A walk alone
by Z-ro
Summary: Ash starts his first journey in Kanto. Where ever he went he always noticed how people traveled in groups. But Ash had no time to make friends. This was a journey he planned to walk alone.
1. Chapter 1: Ash

Disclaimer: I don't own characters or locations made by Game Freak or its subsidiaries. Please enjoy.

A walk alone

Chapter 1

Ash woke up slowly. He sleepily thought it was still early with the light outside barely tinged a warm orange. Ash huddled tighter in his bed to ward off the cold air that sat beyond his blankets. Before he was alert enough to realize today was the day he would choose a pokemon, he fell back asleep content to dream of his new partner...

Ash woke again.

The abrupt yell from his mother coincided with his alarm going off. Ash looked at the clock with blurry eyes before realizing he must have put it on snooze. He hopped out of bed stripping off his pajamas as he went. He was nearly naked as he made it half way down the hall.

'I'll be down in a minute mom!' He said in a panic, his voice already being drowned out by the shower head.

With only a pair of pants in his hands and boxers being pulled up barely past his waist, Ash had quickest and shortest shower in his life. It was enough to wake the young ten year old. Ash ran down stairs two steps at a time and out the door with just what he would barely deem acceptable to travel alone. No back pack, just a belt for pokeballs, a hat and blue jacket to protect him from the elements. Ash ran up the steep hill to Professor Oaks' lab.

A crowd of people stood outside to congratulate the group of kids who showed off their pokemon. Ash recognized everyone including Gary who preened under the attention. Gary was a boy who liked to boast of his famous grandfather and his own knowledge of pokemon. Ash would be willing to admit the kid knew more about pokemon than he did, but the instant need for respect the boy wanted of people put Gary in Ash's do-not-like list.

Ash went around the perimeter of the building to the back entrance. The lab supported a ranch for all sorts of pokemon. The fence was more seen as a boundary for pokemon to know where to go rather than something to prevent people from coming or going to the compound. Ash greeted two assistants who instantly recognized him. The pair escorted him to Professor Oak.

'Professor! Looks like you are not getting out that easily.' Called a lab assistant. Ash felt nervous as Professor Oak looked up from his desk. To his right were several empty pokeball stands.

'Ash, I am glad to see you made it. I was concerned when you were not with the others.'

Ash reddened. 'Sorry Professor, I slept in.' Ash did not feel the need to try and explain how he did not remember the button on his alarm was placed on snooze at least five times before it went off a sixth.

'Don't worry about it Ash. However, we have a bit of a problem that developed over the past two nights.' Professor Oak led the boy to the other side of the room. There sat two pokemon who were huddled close together in a dome nest made of straw and earth.

'You see, I normally present new trainers who are ready with a choice of pokemon, the number of students plus one, so trainers would always have a choice when they selected a pokemon. Unfortunately, two of the pokemon, well...' Professor Oak gestured to the nest. Two pokemon cautiously poked their heads out of the small nest opening before going back inside.

'They started a family.' Oak said excitedly even as he gave an apologetic shrug to Ash. Oak gestured for the young trainer to follow him.

'The pokemon who were to be chosen today were a charmander, a squirtle, a bulbasaur, and two nidorans, a female and a male. The two nidorans had escaped for about three weeks before we finally found the couple. They had already laid a nest of eggs underneath the lab in several burrows. Needless to say, I do not want to separate either of them given the circumstances.'

Ash nodded. He swallowed his disappointment. After that kind of explanation Ash felt it would be selfish to ask for a pokemon.'I-I understand Professor. Do you know when a pokemon will be old enough for me to take on a trainers journey?'

Professor Oak shook his head. 'I am afraid I can not be sure, most of the pokemon already on the ranch are way too experienced or too young to be given to a new trainer. The young ones may be ready in the spring, but that is still nine months away.'

'I understand Professor. We'll, if I don't catch one on my own, I'll be here when you re-announce you have pokemon ready.' Ash swallowed the lump in his throat as Oak led them through the compound.

After a moment of hesitation, Professor Oak added. 'Ash, wait a moment, I do have one pokemon who may be ready to be given to a trainer. But he is a little... rough around the edges.'

Ash stopped and turned to look at the professor. The pair started back towards the lab room with the empty pokeball stands. Professor Oak opened a container that had a pokeball with a small yellow lightening bolt above the control button. The professor opened the ball. A red beam of energy hit the ground only to reform into a small yellow pokemon with black stripes and a jagged tail. 'This pokemon is a pikachu.' Ash looked at the small pokemon. Ash noticed the annoyed look it gave him then the snarled glare at the professor. It leaned onto all four paws and bared it's teeth.

'Why is he so different from the other pokemon that he could not replace one of the nidoran couple?' Ash wondered aloud even as he thought the pokemon was already aggressive. Ash knelt in front of the pokemon. Ash decided it was better to lower his head to meet the pokemon eye to eye. The pokemon charged a crackle of electricity from its cheeks in a warning.

Professor Oak happily replied, 'I found this little guy munching on the power supply wires while searching for the nidorans actually. He put up a decent fight before I captured him.'

Ash took a moment and it suddenly clicked why Professor Oak was not willing to put this pokemon with the starter pokemon for trainers. 'He's a completely wild pokemon isn't he? All the starters are raised in nurseries, where this guy was captured. No one earned enough respect in the little guys eyes.'

Ash sat back to give the little pokemon some room. The mouse was following the conversation and looked less hostile but still gave slight glares over to Professor Oak.

Oak looked surprised Ash understood the situation, when the professor was going to comment on it Ash cut him off before he could ask. 'You can thank your grandson Gary. He was giving everyone a lecture about how to treat your first pokemon capture some time last week. I may not like him, but he does know his stuff.'

Professor Oak smiled slightly at that. The professor looked back to the small pokemon. 'While we have decided he is no older than one year old, he was able to feed directly off the electricity conduit that lead to the labs. That's not something we really expect from most fully grown raichu's with out hurting themselves. I was tempted to keep him here to see what kind of technique the pikachu used to accomplish it, but he has been very uncooperative the few times I took him out of his pokeball.'

For the first time Ash looked right at pikachu to address him directly. 'Hello Pikachu. My name is Ash. I came to professor Oak to accept my first pokemon. Only trainers who had completed a really rough survival course can have a shot at being a trainer. Unfortunately a few pokemon started a family before any one knew about it. So that leaves me with no pokemon. Professor Oak offered you as a possible option instead of waiting for nearly another year.'

Pikachu piped in 'Pikapika' in a nearly silent snarl. Ash gently waved his hand in a calm motion.

'After hearing how you got here, I think I agree with you. You are a wild pokemon who was pretty much locked in that pokeball for a while with no interaction with the trainer that captured you. Then given away.' Pikachu nodded but still kept his ears low and his fur stood at attention.

'Pikachu, I am not sure if I can handle you as my starter. I never had my own pokemon before. I have only read about the local ones and how to spot and avoid them.' Ash palmed the red and white pokeball that was Pikachu's home. 'Do you want to be released?'

Pikachu perked up slightly. Ash felt his heart sink, he still had held out hope maybe they could have worked something out. But offering the mouse pokemon freedom felt right.

Professor Oak stirred at this. 'Ash I can not just release the pokemon to you to release in the wild. If you want to release him you will have to accept him as your first pokemon. I will not be able to give you a second.'

Ash looked up surprised. 'But if he just wants to be released…'

Professor Oak sighed. 'If you don't take him I will be studying him for some time. But I would release him as well if it his wish. But that would be a long time where he will be my pokemon to train.' Ash felt himself frown at that and turned away from professor Oak.

'Pikachu is a captured pokemon Ash. It is my fault for not working with him but it is something I can work out on my own with Pikachu. He will be cared for Ash. Are you sure you want to sacrifice your training pokemon to release him?'

Ash looked at Pikachu who looked ready to bolt after hearing what professor Oak said. Ash sighed as he patted Pikachu's head. He couldn't look at Professor Oak but he nodded. Oak sighed in annoyance but nodded before handing Ash his pokedex. 'very well Ash I can't stop you. I just hope you understand what this can do to your carreer.'

Ash remained silent as he got his pokedex and Pikachu's pokeball. Finally he turned back to Pikachu. 'Alright. I can't free you here, but will you be willing to come with me out side? We can go to the edge of the Oak ranch where I can release you.'

Pikachu was immediately suspicious and stared at the ball warily. Ash took the hint and put it back on his belt. He offered the pokemon his arm.

'Come on little guy, hop on, you won't even need to walk.'

Pikachu tentatively walked up the boys forearm then scurried up the rest of the way. Ash immediately felt the static electricity come over him like a wave. Ash tilted his head as two strands of hair 'pop'ed from a electric discharge.

Ash petted the pokemon before looking at Professor Oak. 'I'll be right back professor.' Professor Oak looked amused at the exchanged but nodded his consent.

Ash looked out the door and took off his pokemon league hat and put it on Pikachu. Pikachu squeaked in alarm, but Ash laughed off the static discharge that warned off such quick motions. 'It will keep you dry until we get to the far edge of the ranch, it looks like its going to rain.' Ash pointed to the sky and started walking as Pikachu followed Ashes fingers to the air. Dark clouds had already formed and covered the length of sky in their valley. The air smelled of fresh earth from a distance where rain had already started to fall along the hills.

'I am sorry for the position we put you in, by the way.' Pikachu turned to look at Ash around the boys hat. 'I mean it, the ranch itself is meant for pokemon who are trained by humans. Professor Oak had already told us would-be-trainers what wild pokemon can do in a strange new habitat. Just be sure to be more careful when you go looking for electricity alright?' Pikachu perked up at that and chittered at the boy.

Ash pushed himself up and over the fence with the little pokemon clung to his shoulder. Once the two were inside the tree line, Ash took back his cap. 'Ok Pikachu, I am going to need to set you down and take out the pokeball you were captured in. I'm going to point it at you. It won't hurt but we will know you are released from the balls energy as soon as I let you out again because the ball will fall apart. Are you ready?'

Pikachu nodded and hopped down to face the boy still weary of the energy from the strange ball. 'Pikachu, return.'

The ball shot a red beam of energy and immediately shrank to the pocket sized ball. Ash laughed silently to himself.

'I'm releasing a pokemon before I even caught one.' Ash longingly looked at the ball before he exhaled, releasing any expectations he had for being a trainer... For now at least.

'Pokeball, release!' A beam of blue energy shot out of the ball and immediately made a clank sound before the hinges split.

Pikachu shook off the blue energy before it checked its body and cried out 'Pika pika!' The little yellow pokemon ran and jumped around happily. Ash laughed in celebration for the small pokemon.

'You stay out of trouble pikachu.' Ash placed his hand out for the little pokemon as an offer to be petted. Pikachu sniffed the hand carefully and leaned into Ash's palm. Ash smiled slightly and caressed the little mouse. After a moment the rain started to fall. Ash frowned at the distant thunder. The storm was moving in quickly.

'Just be careful not to wander too close to human buildings if you don't want to be captured again. I should get back before that lightning comes in. Good bye.'

Pikachu watched the boy hop back over the fence. Ash gave the mouse one more look before he started walking the distance to the ranch house. Pikachu jumped onto the wooden fence and shouted 'PIKA!' Pikachu waved his little arm in an imitation he had seen humans do when they separated. Ash turned and laughed before he waved back.

Ash had mixed feelings about his first encounter with a pokemon. He felt they had really connected. Ash was not sure what he had hoped for when he walked the mouse out to the edge of the ranch, but his chest clenched as he understood that he would need to find a way to capture a pokemon on his own. He did not like leaving Pallet Town until he did have one.

His thoughts were cut off as lightning crashed down in the open field of the ranch. 'That was close!' Ash immediately started towards the forest line. Training kicked in and Ash ran to the forest for shelter. The rain took the lightning as a cue and torrents of water began to fall. Ash could feel ground quickly turned to mud under his feet with every step. The last two hundred feet were beginning to feel like miles. Time slowed down as lightning hit somewhere to Ash's left.

That was really close!

Ash pushed himself farther and felt the footing slip under him. The ten year old cried in pain as he felt his ankle roll to the side of his foot. The boy fell to the ground and looked up quickly to the forest line. It was still a ways away. Ash started to get on his feet again and it took some effort to get up with only one good leg. With a groan, Ash quickly as he dared moved along the slick mud.

'CHU!' Ash looked back to where he left the Pikachu. The little electric mouse was running to him.

'Pikachu get out of here! You can't help me. It's too dangerous! I don't have far to go.' Ash and the pikachu knew it was an out right lie, it took them forty minutes to clear the ranch. Ash had just started limping beyond the fence when the pokemon caught up to him. His thoughts were interrupted as lightning hit a random tree in the forest to due south of the pair.

Pikachu looked at the ten year old before turning to see the distance towards the tree line. The pokemon nudged the boy to get a move on before he planted his paws in the muddy earth. Ash followed the nudge and started to walk, believing the little mouse was right behind him and his quick hobble. Ash was almost to the tree line when lightning struck somewhere directly behind him.

'PI-KA!'

Ash turned around. Light flashed around the pokemon. The little mouse released lightning in an arc from the ground into the sky. The flash of light appeared and disappeared in a blink of an eye. Ash, now safely behind the tree line, started to call for the mouse to follow before lightning struck the mouse again. The yellow pokemon's tail was raised straight into the air. His four legs stood strong. Pikachu screamed and directed the lightning in the opposite direction of Ash. Ash felt his hearth thrum from the giant arc that could have hit so close to him.

'Pikachu! I'm safe, come here!' Pikachu turned its head and looked relieved before an unexpected bolt of lightening struck the mouse. The pokemon screamed in pain as the full force of nature coursed through its body. The mouse slumped. Arcs of electricity flowed off the little pokemon.

Ash was not sure if any more bolts would be attracted to the pokemon, but he did know the pikachu needed to be healed. Ash pulled an empty pokeball from his belt. He looked at the distance between him and the pikachu. It was not far, but the rain really would throw off his aim. With an exhaled breathe, Ash threw it at the pikachu. There was no resistance from the capture. The ball flew back to Ash's hand with Pikachu firmly captured in the ball.

'I'm sorry little guy, I'll release you as soon as its safe and healed. I promise.' Ash pulled further into the trees as the rain and lightening took its course. Ash found a relatively dry part of ground under a thick canopy of trees. Ash pulled off his soaked jacket and his shoe to allow his rapidly swelling ankle time to swell with out chaffing against his shoe. Ash only had limited supplies with him, thinking he was going back to his house to get the rest of his equipment after he received his pokemon.

Ash sighed at the single potion he had in his pocket. It was a small cylinder with a trigger at the end. It was the kind of potion you applied directly to the pokemon, not one you can inject through the pokeball's healing system. Ash released the unconscious pokemon and gently moved around the patches of burnt fur. Ash did his best to spray the worst looking spots, but knew pikachu needed to be taken to a care center like Oaks lab.

'I can't have you go back into your ball in this state. I just hope I didn't injure you too bad when I made you go into that pokeball in that condition.' Ash took off his shirt. It was mostly dry thanks to the thick jacket he wore, even if the rain was heavy enough where water was seeping through. Ash wrapped the shirt around the electric pokemon before holding it close. After the adrenaline rush, Ash was feeling incredibly sleepy. The drone of the mid day rain and the fading lightning lulled him into a doze. It was moments later when Ash fell asleep against the base of a tree.

-o-

Ash woke up under a warm blanket. Ash's mind lazily tried to remember where he was but could only remember flashes of falling asleep under a tree. Ash sat up only to wince slightly from the movement. Every muscle ached and he had no idea why. The ten year old laid back down and just tried to think. Now that he was more alert he vaguely remembered a few people hovering over him and lifting him up onto a truck.

Pikachu.

Ash looked around and noticed a lone pokeball was sitting on the nightstand next to his bed. Ash picked it up and was not surprised when the ball expanded to full size and was marked as occupied. Ash exhaled and released the pokemon. Ash was relieved when pikachu appeared in red light. The electric mouse looked around quickly before catching sight of Ash.

'Pikapi!' Pikachu chittered before hopping over the layers of blankets and jumped into the boys chest. Pikachu gave a relieved coo and looked up at Ash to lick the boys' cheek.

'I'm glad to see you are alright. I was worried about you too.' Ash hugged the yellow mouse tighter. 'I'm sorry about throwing a pokeball at you. But there was no other way to save you.'

Pikachu replied with a 'Chaa' before it curled up in Ash's lap and went to sleep. Ash smiled at the small ball of yellow fur. Ash absent mindedly pet the pokemon before he leaned against the head board of the bed and fell asleep.

Ash woke up later with a gentle hand resting on his shoulder. Ash looked blurry eyed at the figure over him and realized it was his mother. 'Mom.'

Delia Ketchum sighed, relieved to see her son awake. 'Hi honey, you gave us a scare.' Delia pulled her son into a hug mindful of the sleeping pokemon still in Ash's lap.

'When was I found?' Ash was still not sure how much time had passed.

'Late the night you went to try and release pikachu. Professor Oak healed pikachu and a doctor discussed how you had such a large amount of electricity in your system. Professor Oak explained pikachu's are a natural lightening rod. Even being around a calm pikachu carries a risk of being receptive to lightning strikes due to the small amounts of electricity the pokemon released to the ground and what ever the pokemon touches.'

'I carried him the whole length of the ranch and walked the same path back to the lab. Do you think pikachu knew? I was surprised when he came running back to me.' Ash gently rubbed the top of the pokemons head.

Ash's mom nodded, 'Probably. Professor Oak says that ground to cloud bolts of lightning are almost a guarantee when an electric pokemon is around. Pikachu would know this for sure. Are you hungry dear?' Ash nodded.

Delia quickly left the room leaving Ash and pikachu to themselves. Ash looked down as he saw pikachu's ears enter his field of vision. 'Pikapi?'

Ash leaned over and grabbed the ball of its pedestal. 'I am sorry you are locked to a pokeball again. I'll let you go in a second let me get up.'

Pikachu bounced on his chest as he tried to get up and Ash fell back into bed. 'Pikapi!' Pikachu announced before knocking the ball out of Ash's hand and it rolled to the floor.

'Pikachu what are you doing?'

The yellow mouse jumped off the bed and picked up its pokeball. On two legs it walked over to Ash's pokebelt that had five other empty balls and Pikachu pushed the ball until it latched to the belt. Satisfied, Pikachu jumped up to Ash's bed and back into Ash's chest making a 'Chaa!'

Ash felt very relieved. And he held the mouse. 'You definitely want to be my partner then?'

'Pika!' Pikachu agreed letting Ash pet him. Pikachu became alert again before getting out of Ash's hands and standing upright. Ash looked at the mouse who put its paw to it self 'Pikachu' The mouse then leaned forward and pressed a paw against Ash's chest. 'Pikapi.'

'You just want Pikachu as your name?'

'Pichu.' Agreed the mouse.

Ash laughed to himself at the absurdity of it all. 'Alright Pikachu. All there is to do now is just get healed up.'

-o-

It took both Ash and Pikachu several days to begin to run around the Ketchum household before the boys' mother told him he looked healed enough to start his journey. Ash cheered with his new partner Pikachu. The two had stuck together at all times in the house and when one left the house the other followed. While Delia gave her son a odd look at times when Pikachu left the house and Ash followed, she felt encouraged that the two were bonding.

Delia looked at message she wrote down when she last spoke to Professor Oak. 'I guess its time for him to really start his journey.'

True to her predictions, two days later, Ash and Pikachu left for their pokemon journey.

-o-

'Hey kid want to battle?'

Ash looked up ahead. A kid a year older than him had a rattata standing by him while they looked at the river. Ash perked up at the idea of an actual battle.

'You up for it pikachu?'

Pikachu looked at him and nodded, 'Pikachu!'

'Looks like we are in, one on one?'

The kid smiled, 'Sure! Lets go Tat!'

Ash put his back pack down and took out his pokedex. He was familiar with Ratttata, but it was good to get into a habit of use it. Ash re-read a few text and nodded. 'Let's go pikachu, tackle.'

'Rattata quick attack.'

Ash saw the attack coming. 'Dodge pikachu.' Pikachu moved to his right but was hit. Pikachu rolled in the dirt before getting up. Ash pursed his lips, the reaction was slow.

'Pikachu thundershock.'

Pikachu stopped moving and started to generate electricity. It shot to the Rattata who shudderd from the attack.

'Pikachu, tackle again.'

Pikachu started moving again. The rattata shook off the thundershock and stood waiting for orders. Ash saw the hesitation and shouted, 'Quick attack.'

Pikachu moved in from a tackle to suddenly burst into a quick sprint that hit rattata again. 'Tackle on the rebound.' Ash called. Rattata was pushed back by the quick attack and was hit again from Pikachu's tackle.

The rattata slumped on the ground. 'Come back pikachu.'

The kid gave a moan in disappointment. 'Good battle.'

'Good battle. My name is Ash, what's yours?'

'Kome.' Kome got a potion out and took care of his rattata. 'Your pikachu is fast.'

'Really? We haven't had too many chances to battle.'

'I am sure if you stay on this road you will find more people looking for battles.'

'Thanks Kome.'

Kome pulled out a pocket of change. 'Here. For the win.' Ash looked at the change in his hand. It was a few hundred pokedollars. 'Just be happy with it man, trainers are always poor. We locals like to support the effort. You keep us all safe.'

The kid waved his hand and started walking away with his rattata trailing behind him.

Ash looked at the change. He knew that trainers were supposed to be protectors for the country. But it never really registered how other people would see him. Ash pocketed the change and said a quiet thank you to the air before resuming his walk with pikachu next to him. Ash gave his partner a sidelong glance.

'Pikachu we are going to have to figure out how to make you move the way I want you to, we are both too slow when we saw what the rattata was doing. We'll work on that charging too. We shouldn't have you be a sitting duck while you get ready to attack.'

Pikachu chittered and nibbled Ash's ankle in protest. Not missing a beat Ash added 'Start practicing swift.'

Pikachu growled in annoyance before sparks of electricity grew from his cheeks. Which promptly popped into gasps of energy from the failed attempt.

-o-

Ash turned back to look at Viridian City silently disappointed. The gym was closed. But a few of the trainers who were at the center said no new trainers should go there first. The Viridian City Gym was the place you go to if you want to find a job. The gym leader Giovanni will stomp anyone who attempts his gym and did not come prepared. Every trainer Ash talked to had at least ten badges and they were all feeling as if they were not ready for the gym. The idea that there was a gym so close to home but with such a reputation made him uncomfortable.

Ash thanked the group for the advice before passing it to go north. A few of the younger trainers said Pewter was actually a good place to start for gym battles. Especially if they grew up in Viridian. Ash wondered why but did not ask.

It was a two day walk when Ash finally slowed to a stop with Pikachu halting and tilting his head in confusion. They had not been walking long. 'Come here Pikachu. I been thinking a lot about how we are going to get our first badge.'

While Ash always knew his pokemon would get hurt, the experience with the lightning strikes put the whole idea of pokemon fighting in a new perspective. 'I don't want to just go into the gym and demand a battle for a badge. You could get hurt for no reason. So we are going to take our time and think about what this gym specializes. I saw a few signs around the last village that advertised different things, but one common link was that they all used rock pokemon, not the grass kind we see in Pallet Town.' Pikachu looked ahead further down the path and noticed how the trees of the forest began to filter as the path wound higher into the rocky hillside. Pikachu chittered a reply of understanding back at his trainer.

'This means that we are going to train to fight against rock pokemon. I only know a little my self and my pokedex will not give me any information I don't already know about from a scan.' Ash took out the pokedex and frowned at it. Ash demonstrated what he was talking about by trying to pull up Charizard on his pokedex. He had seen Professor Oaks Charizard but never scanned it. The pokedex gave a blank screen with a silhouette of a large pokemon. Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder to look at the screen.

'PikaPika' the pokemon sighed in disappointment. Ash just laughed at the reaction.

'All this means is we are going to practice fighting rock pokemon. We'll wander the hills for a bit and try fighting them and learning what we can about them.'

-o-

Ash poked one last branch at the steady camp fire before stretching. Scouting the area for pokemon had been successful for the first few days but as they drew closer to the next town, pokemon were becoming more scarce. Ash looked at the quickly healing marks on his pokemon. Pikachu perked at the look before he ate the last nibble of food.

Pikachu cheered when Ash reached for a few rocks he had picked up from the path earlier in the day. Three branches were picked clean, two were narrowed to a whip like tip. The other had a heavy wooden knot at the end.

Ash grimaced at the realization early on when Pikachu quickly outfought every wild rock pokemon in the area. Ash believed they had all the basics of the rock pokemons strengths' down. But none of the rock pokemon could hold a candle to Pikachu's speed anymore. Ash was reluctant at first but Pikachu encouraged and started to down right play on Ash's sleeping form in the early mornings for some kind of exercise when battling was becoming easier.

The first time Ash had swung a tree branch so sharply it cut across Pikachu's electric sacks, the young trainer was ready to drop the training and take the pokemon to the center. Pikachu ignored the sting, only to growl a combative challenge to his trainer before charging. Pikachu attempted to bite the tree branch. Ash had smiled at his pokemon in relief before continuing the unconventional training.

Ash palmed three smooth rocks with one hand and the tree branch in the other. With a mighty roar Ash threw two of the three rocks at Pikachu who dodged both before swiftly dodging around Ash to get behind his trainer. Ash swung the heavy knotted branch with his left hand first low, then high before throwing his final rock at Pikachu as hard as he could. The pokemon disappeared with a burst of speed before several copies surrounded Ash. Ash thumped the tree branch hard on the ground several times to kick up dust and ignored three of the clones that did not react to the dust. Pikachu avoided the tree branch again before sprinting forward again biting the tree branch with glowing teeth. The branch broke in half.

Ash smiled before picking up the mouse by the scruff of his neck and tossing him into the air. 'Keep me off balance!' Pikachu gathered energy and growled, releasing energy into his vocal cords creating a sound that was far deeper than anything the small pokemon should be able to produce. Pikachu suddenly bent his tail and his body back as the stub of the tree branch flew at him. Pikachu then launched a lightning bolt at the tree branch. Ash let it go before rushing Pikachu. The mouse let him get close and Pikachu dodged a kick and jumped and nipped at Ash's arm in an imitation of the pokemons bite attack. Pikachu nipped Ash's arm several more times in quick succession. Pikachu moved away when Ash reached for him. When Pikachu tried to make room, Ash kicked dirt at the pokemon. Pikachu jumped back to avoid dirt in his eyes and to practice what ever surprise attack a pokemon could produce at that range.

'Good, how do you feel?' asked Ash. His voice was breathless and he hunched over to take slower deeper breaths.

'Pikapika!' came the squeaked reply. Ash laughed when Pikachu came into view just as sweaty and tired with the canteen band in his mouth and the water container dragged behind him.

'Thanks Pikachu.' Ash stood up and recapped the canteen when they were both hydrated. Ash went back to the camp fire and grabbed one of the other branches. 'Remember Pikachu, energy is energy. Swift works just like thundershock does. You just don't use your electric pouches for it.' Ash went to the center of the clearing and moved the branch in front of him.

'Again.'

-o-

'Thanks, we really needed it.' Ash took the dehydrated food and placed it in his bag.

The younger boy laughed at the trainer before walking back to town. The walk was not that far to the pokemon center. The young boy said he did not know anyone else who would want to come out here to challenge him and waved.

Ash shook his head at the latest challenger. Word got around that there was a trainer who was in the hills. The influx of challengers while training with Pikachu was a welcome break and the trade of battles for goods allowed the pair to stay training longer than they expected.

Ash looked at Pikachu who sat on his hind quarters looking tired and sucking on a bottle of water. 'Pika!' it squealed in satisfaction and promptly tossed the empty water bottle at his trainer. Ash gave his pokemon an annoyed look as the empty bottle rolled to his feet.

'Very funny Pikachu. Looks like we need to head to the river. Get in front of me, I'll call out targets for you to hit.' Pikachu perked up at the training exercise and hopped in front of his trainer.

'The flowering red tree to our left.' A chirp of electricity shot out at the tree. Ash stopped and looked at the tree in satisfaction. 'Five more targets and we start throwing swift attack instead.' The electric mouse sagged its head. Pikachu hated using swift.

The pair scaled down a steep hill before Ash called out a boulder just ahead of them at the marker they used to know how close to the river they were. Pikachu obligingly shot an electric shock that hit the rock. The rock promptly vibrated with energy and exploded.

'Whoa what happened to the rock?' Ash looked at his arm and felt the hair of his arm were standing up. 'Pikachu return.' Pikachu snarled as he was absorbed by his pokeball. 'Sorry little buddy, but you were making too much electricity again. Just give me a minute and I'll let you out.' Ash went to a near by tree and touched it until he felt the his body loose the charge of electricity. Normally it was not a problem even when Pikachu was sitting on his head. But lately he had been noticing that Pikachu had been discharging a lot more electricity. Ash only experienced so much electricity after walking on the metal bridges that separate the Viridian Forest and the rocky mountains that lead to Mount Moon.

'That's a thought.' Once the electricity was gone, Ash went to investigate the boulder explosion. He could not feel any of the electricity build up anymore. Looking at the boulder he found flecks of black rock in the boulder. Ash took out his pokedex and looked at the archives for the area. After a few moments of quick research of the area Ash was satisfied that Pikachu hit a heavy vein of iron in the boulder and the surrounding ground. 'I guess that means no more electric attacks until we are out of the area. There is so much iron here I am surprised we haven't blown our selves up yet.'

Ash pulled off Pikachu's ball from his belt and released him. Immediately Ash could feel the charge from Pikachu. Now that he was really looking to feel it, it was hard to ignore.

'Looks like we are just practicing swift now Pikachu. No more electric attacks.' Pikachu glared at him but obediently walked ahead of him waiting for orders.

-o-

With the dwindling supplies, Ash decided it was time to finally finish the last leg of their trip. Ash walked into Pewter City with Pikachu sleeping in his pokeball. Ash had managed to wear out his pokemon early that morning and allowed himself to be absorbed into the small ball with minimal fuss. The city was twice as large as Pallet Town and Ash was thankful the pokecenter was near the entrance to the town they walked into. The young trainer set Pikachu's pokeball on the tray and Nurse Joy took the lone pokemon into the back with the promise Pikachu would be well rested in the morning.

Ash sleepily traveled to his room and unloaded his travel pack. He looked through what he needed for the trip to the next town and then went to find something to eat. A pokemon trainers journey was expensive, but there were usually enough trainers around to bet matches for money or equipment. Ash made enough money from betting some of his supplies to not worry about asking his mom for money. With that thought Ash was about to leave the pokecenter only to turn around and ask for where the communications room was.

It might not have been too late for a call. Ash took off his hat and ruffled his hair. It was matted with sweat from the few days of traveling. Again, Ash just now thought he should really bathe before he leaves the center to look for food. His stomach rumbled in protest as he dialed his home number.

'Ash!' Deliah Ketchum said cheerfully. 'I am so glad you called. I was beginning to wonder if you would be like your father and not call for months at a time.' Ash grimaced at the passive reminder.

'I'm doing fine mom, Pikachu and I thought it would be a good idea to take it slow and train up a bit before we got to town. We are in Pewter now. We will challenge the gym tomorrow.' Ash's mom tilted her head slightly.

'Just with pikachu?'

Ash smiled. 'We wanted to try it at least once before we look for a new team member. We trained hard against a lot of rock pokemon, but I think we both just want to see for ourselves what a gym fight is like.'

Deliah smiled at the response. 'I can appreciate your need to measure your skills against a skilled trainer honey, just remember that every experience is part of learning to be a good trainer.'

Ash smiled at the reminder. It was a kind way of saying don't get your hopes up. 'I will mom, thanks.'

-o-

Pikachu shuddered when he got out of his pokeball. He glared at his trainer who had the audacity to laugh, but quickly forgave him when Ash offered his shoulder to be carried.

'Sorry Pikachu, lets get you fed and we can go to the gym.' It was well past noon when the pair stood in front of a stone building with the sculpted word "Gym" over the double doors.

Pikachu and Ash both gave an awed sound at the size of the gym. Ash was not sure what he was expecting for a Pokemon Gym, but it certainly was not the massive stone building that resembled an ancient temple. Ash walked up the stone steps and pushed open the double doors. The doors obediently opened with little resistance. A heavy thud resounded in the empty gym. Ash was self conscious with every step he made when the sound bounced off the walls. The Gym was well lit and boulders littered the whole gym floor. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and started to look around.

'Hello! My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. I've come to ask for a gym battle.'

There was a loud laugh at that. A young man in his late teens looked at the pair from the banister well above the gym floor. Ash found him quickly. 'Ash of Pallet, I hope you have a better understanding of pokemon typing if you are bringing an electric type into my gym.' Ash squared his shoulders and looked at the man.

'I know enough to train for this fight. Are you the gym leader?'

The teenager jumped off the banister and landed in a deep crouch onto the gym floor. 'I'm Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader.'

Brock gave Ash and his pikachu a glance over the shoulder when he turned to his seat at the head of the gym. A panel opened to show several pokeballs. Brock placed two off his belt onto the rail with the rest of his pokemon. Brock Hmm'ed.

'You look like a starter.' Ash nodded at the correct observation. 'Then these two should be more than enough.' Brock chose two balls from the rail and hooked them to his belt. Ash looked at him and Brock answered his question before he really asked it.

'Gym battles are different from trainer battles. Each gym leader possess pokemon their family have trained for years. We choose the pokemon based on the challengers experience level. You'll see right away if you make it far enough that the final gyms, which ever ones you choose as your last ones will have more pokemon for you to fight. How many gyms have you visited Ash?'

Ash shook his head and gestured for pikachu to run back to him.

'This is my first. I just headed north from Pallet Town.'

Brock smiled at that.

'I'm pleased to see I'm your first challenge. This will be a two on two battle. The gym leader is not allowed to make substitutions. The challenger may substitute twice but only between his two chosen pokemon. Winner is declared when two pokemon on either side is knocked out. Any questions?'

'If I decided that I am unprepared, am I allowed to forfeit and come back to try again later?'

Brock nodded approvingly. He started walking back to his side of the battle field. 'You may forfeit at any time. Know that what ever rules we apply now may change at a later date. Every gym has had challengers come back to their gym later after beating several others only to realize that the challenge will remain even if they have more experienced pokemon.'

Ash frowned at that bit of information. Brock misunderstood his question. Ash did not plan to leave town until he beat Brock.

'Ok Ash. Here is my first pokemon. Geodude come on out!'

Ash smiled and pulled out his pokedex. It beeped at him as it scanned the rock pokemon. Pikachu ran onto the field needing no prodding from his trainer.

'Ok Pikachu, it's our first gym battle. Just like we trained you. Quick attack to test his speed.' Pikachu started to run and blurred before skidding to a halt behind geodude and ramming the rock pokemon in the back. Geodude barely responded to the attack.

'Pikachu give it some space.' Pikachu backed away as Brock told his pokemon to use tackle. Ash looked at his pokedex and tried to remember what he saw from the wild pokemon.

'Pikachu quick attack around him, pick up the dirt.'

'PIKA!' pikachu cheered as he started circling geodude, dragging his tail along the ground to crate grooves and kick up the dry dirt.

Brock watched for a moment. He was curious what Ash would do after clearly seeing that a physical attack did no damage to his pokemon. 'Geodude, defense curl. Wait it out.'

Ash frowned at Brock's command. Ash had seen a few different notes people made about geodude from his pokedex and noticed most physical attacks would not work and it had high defense. And while the pokemon was as slow as the geodudes they had met in the hills, Brock's geodude has a lot more defense. 'Pikachu we need to intimidate it. Keep using quick attack around him and growl.'

Pikachu sped up his sprint around geodude and collected energy in his mouth before releasing a guttural noise that echoed off the stone walls. The dust was thick enough for Pikachu to loose eye contact with his opponent. With Geodude determined to stay still, Ash saw their opening. 'Pikachu, choose a side and swift.'

Pikachu kept circling Geodude and stopped to gather electrical energy before it changed to pure energy. The balls flew into the dust but not before they formed into stars. Ash was satisfied with the attack when geodude grunted in pain. Pikachu was ordered to give geodude some room in case he tried to counter attack. When the dust settled there was no sign of geodude and the dust covered the ground. Ash furrowed at the missing pokemon.

'How did he escape?' Pikachu looked at his trainer who nodded. Pikachu cautiously got closer to spot where Geodude had stood still. Ash unconsciously moved a little to the left to look around to get a better view of the spot since there were so many boulders on the field. Ash glanced as his pokedex and a note caught his attention.

'Pikachu clear the area, one of those boulders is Geodude!' Pikachu jumped out of the way moments before Geodude broke away from a boulder to grab the mouse pokemon. Pikachu chittered angrily and defensively launched an electrical attack at Geodude. The rock pokemon shrugged off the attack with ease.

Geodude got a good grip on pikachu's tail and pulled the yellow pokemon into a bear hug trapping Pikachu's tail. A moment later Geodude roared his name and began to constrict Ash's pokemon. Brock nodded in approval.

'You better switch out that Pikachu soon. He isn't going to last too much longer.' Brock called across the field.

'Growl, Bite, Swift!' Ash called quickly. Pikachu growled, the vibrations of the sound reverberated in the rock pokemons body making him loosen slightly. It was enough that Pikachu could bite hard on Geodude's arm to get his body off the ground and into the air with Brocks pokemon still holding his grip. Energy snapped around both pokemon before they converged on Pikachu's back slamming the rock pokemon at point blank range.

Pikachu sprinted out as soon as he felt slack on the rock pokemon's arms and pulled up to Ash's side. When both Ash and his pokemon looked at the cleared dust, Geodude laid still arms flat against the ground exhausted.

'We'll done Ash. Geodude is unable to battle. Pikachu wins.' Brock was very impressed. He recalled his geodude. 'You did well out there geodude. He had some moves we would not expect you to see for a few years until you grew a little. Take a long rest.'

Brock smiled at Ash before pulling out his second pokemon. This second battle should be just as short. 'Onix I choose you.'

A giant worm shaped pokemon expanded to take up a quarter of the field. It's segmented rock body rose into the air dwarfing pikachu.

Ash pulled up his poke dex and gritted his teeth at what it said. Pikachu squeaked back at him in support. 'I trust you buddy. If you want to try we'll start from the beginning. Test his speed.'

Pikachu burst into sprint just barely below his quick attack speed. He was not interested in attacking the giant rock pokemon, he just wanted to see how fast the big guy was. Pikachu was immediately slammed away by a rock tail. Pikachu flinched in mid air and landed in a crumbled heap.

Ash was ready to call it but the mouse pokemon released some electricity. Ash stopped himself in mid breath. Pikachu would only loose control of his electricity like that when he was mad. 'Don't let it get to you. We still have a long fight ahead of us Pikachu.' Ash called as a warning and a reminder. Pikachu must have felt a lot of pain to get that riled up. The small electric mouse snarled at the giant rock pokemon. It was the first serious hit he had received in a battle.

Pikachu kicked up dust as he sprinted into a quick attack. The mouse jumped into the air and landed on the giant pokemon. He easily scaled the rock pokemon. A single head toss nearly dislodged him but he needed to get as close to Onix's ears as possible. He knew his growl would only go so far. Moments later, Pikachu stopped and stood on the Onix's head. Pikachu growled loudly trying to intimidate the Onix to show he was not afraid. Onix ignored it and shook his head wildly to attempt to fling the smaller pokemon air borne. After a minute Pikachu finally lost his grip.

The Onix was agile enough to catch the pikachu in free fall. Rolling rocks moved around Onix bulky body in an attempt to slam his tail into Pikachu to end the fight. Pikachu glared at the Onix and began to bare its teeth. Onix hesitated for a moment before he swung his tail at the small pokemon.

The miment wwas enough for pikachu. He bound off a boulder sitting on the gym field. Pikachu immediately leaped off the rock to clear the area. The boulder exploded into fragments.

Ash saw an opening. 'Pikachu skip the rocks!'

Pikachu remembered his training with Ash. His trainer would always bring rocks to throw at him. Pikachu would either dodge or hit them in mid air. It was usually with lightning but Pikachu knew his trainer wanted the harder shot. Pikachu started targeting the chunks of rock still falling in mid air with swift. It was a raw unsuppressed energy shot that slammed into the debris launching the rocks at Onix. For the first time in the fight Onix grunted in pain. Pikachu quickly looked around at the boulders covering four boulders, four shots to take down the Onix.

'Do it Pikachu.' Ash called from Pikachu's left.

Pikachu eagerly charged forward. The first boulder the swift attack targeted flew several chunks of rock into the air. Pikachu launched another volley of swift attacks to push the large boulders at the Onix. The pokemon grunted but started to push the rocks that fell around him out of the way. Dust began to build as chunks for a second boulder launched at him. The onix grunted but broke already caught on.

'Onix break the last two rocks. Take away their ammunition.' Onix complied and with a single tail swipe destroyed the final two intact boulders.

Pikachu panted heavily. All of those swift attacks took a lot out of him.

'You've done great Ash but your pikachu looks about ready to fall over. Did you want to switch him out?' Brock blinked and finally noticed Ash's belt. There was only a single lone pokeball. Brock whistled at the kids' courage to even attempt a gym battle with only a single pokemon. 'Or inexperience. Onix you don't have to worry about a switch out. Finish this.'

Pikachu sprinted around the debris and around the attacks. He had started to pick up how fast Onix moved, but he was tiring. Pikachu grounded his paws into the dirt and noticed something.

'PIKA-PI!' Ash looked from the onix to his pikachu. Pikachu turned away from the onix to clearly give a stance to his partner. It was a stance Ash immediately recognized. It forced Ash to really look around the ring. He smiled at what he saw. 'Ok Pikachu, I see what you mean.'

Pikachu moved back to face the onix, fatigue clearly showing on the small mouse pokemon. With a 'cha' Pikachu burst ahead with speed.

'Pikachu Swift!' Pikachu generated energy around his body and several balls of energy reformed into stars and sped at the onix.

'You need to start thinking of a new strategy or forfeit kid.' Brock said with a lowered chin. He gave a serious look at his opponent's pokemon. 'If you don't, I'll call the match.'

'Don't worry about us Brock.' Ash saw Onix dodge the swift attack. Debris from the boulders began to break apart into finer rocks and dust. 'Pikachu circle around him and start charging.'

The pokemon cried out an affirmative before doing just that. Pikachu took the time to build up energy. Onix continued to try and catch the pokemon only to see the cloud of dust cover him from the repeated break up of boulders. Soon the gym floor was flat with just small lumps of rocks. Ash looked at the ground again. He smiled as the ground began to get a shade darker. At that moment Brock noticed the stadium floor looked different too, but it was too late.

'Pikachu, quick attack to Onix's head.' Just as Pikachu landed on the onix's head, the rock pokemon started to thrash about in attempt to jar loose his opponent. Pikachu simply dug in his paws and raised his tail. Both the mouse and his trainer exchanged a moment that took the pair back to the thunderstorm. Pikachu adopted the same stance at that time too.

'Pikachu, Thunderbolt.' The flash of light was the first thing Brock registered before he realized this was a new attack. A second flash of light lit the ground and the dirt shifted into dark bands. Tendrils of Electricity snapped to life from the ground before the gym leader and the pokemon trainer were blinded by a final massive flash of light. A hollow moan from Brock's pokemon was followed by a large thud as it collapsed to the ground. Ash and Brock waited on steady feet until the ground stopped its rumble of shock waves. The smoke took some time to clear but pikachu had already bounded back to the ready position in front of his trainer with pops of electricity snapping in his fur. The iron flakes on the ground moved and followed in a pattern around the small pokemon.

Brock waited a few moments while the smoke tried to settle, but with no further movement from his pokemon, he recalled him. 'Return Onix. You did an amazing job out there.' Brock placed the pokeball back on his belt and looked back to his challenger. Both Ash and Pikachu were stunned by the victory. Brock laughed quietly to himself as he walked across the field to meet them in the center.

Brock knelt to the ground and picked up some of the dirt. His fingers ran across the dirt in his hand and he smiled. 'You magnetized the field and had it store up energy. The field was a giant dynamo.'

Ash scratched the back of his neck.

'I noticed that the rock in your gym is like the rock where we trained at on the hills. We saw that a lot of the rocks we had pikachu practice on could help the lightning, but we didn't know how well it could be used as a conductor. It was actually Pikachu's idea. It never occurred to me.' Ash said honestly, even as he was unsure if that would disqualify him from earning the boulder badge.

Brock started to laugh. 'The communication between you two is top notch. Well done.' Brock stretched out his hand and handed the boy the boulder badge.

'Take this, you two have definitely earned it.'

Ash took the badge and knelt to pick up his pokemon, 'We did it pikachu.' He showed the badge to his partner who pawed it.

'It was close there before you had that strategy. Do you have any idea what you would have done if I had ended it sooner?' Brock was sorely tempted a few times during the match to end it early citing pikachu was unable to battle with out irreparable damage.

'We would have gone to try and look for another partner. I was not actually expecting a win. I just wanted to see where we stand against a gym leader.'

Brock gave Ash a thoughtful look before asking, 'How is your pokemon? It was pretty damaged already when he summoned that thunderbolt.'

Pikachu looked up if just a little sleepy. His ears perked before lowering back down. 'He will be fine after a trip to the pokemon center. He has channeled more electricity before. He saved me during a thunder storm and redirected lightning a few times from us.'

Brock whistled. 'We'll I have taken care of many kinds of pokemon, let me see him in the next room. I need to care for my pokemon too.'

Ash picked up pikachu. Ash could already feel the zap of electricity from his pokemon as it spread to him. Ash giggled at the feeling even as tufts of his hair stood on end.

-o-

That night Brock leaned back in his chair waiting for the call to connect. Eventually, the other side answered with a sigh.

'What is it this time Brock?'

Brock leaned forward closer to the monitor to admire the woman with a smile. 'Good evening Lily. I actually wanted to speak to Misty gym-leader to gym-leader. But stick around. You should probably hear about the kid with a Pikachu too.'

A/N: Now that I am over a novel length of a story and I am now writing my longest story to date I really need to go back and update the first few chapters. And the plus side I can do this from a phone. I am still currently with out a computer.


	2. Chapter 2: Misty

Chapter 2

'Pika!' Pikachu squealed, gleefully ignoring Ash's order to knock it off. There was a soft thud as another rock was split in two.

'Enjoy it while it lasts, we are hitting the town soon and I am not letting you do anything that can be considered an attack until we get that electricity fully discharged. You nearly fried that poor butterfree in our last fight.'

Pikachu drooped his ears. 'Pikapikah'

Pikachu had not meant to nearly maim the pokemon. But the energy came to him so quickly he could not stop it before he released the thunderbolt. Ash had called that fight there saying he forfeited. He apologized the entire time while looking at the injured butterfree. The bug pokemon's wing was tattered and had squealed in serious pain in the other boys arms. Ash and the other boy had spent a lot of expensive healing items on the trainer's butterfree to make sure he would be able to make it to the nearest village. The other kid said they had a healer but no pokemon center. Ash watched him go with a grim reluctance to continue his own journey towards Cerulean.

Finally the pair had made it to the town of their next gym challenge. Unlike Pewter, Ash had Pikachu sitting on his shoulder to see the spectacle of the water city.

Where Pewter could be consider a town just larger than Pallet Town, Cerulean City was a massive metropolis. Its rivers and ponds ran all the way through the city making the city even more expansive than Ash felt it really needed to be.

Ash was not sure what kind of gym Cerulean would have. There were no telltale pokemon that lead up to the town like Pewter City. So he had decided to go try the gym for himself before going to formulate a plan.

A twenty minute walk later, Ash stopped in front of the gym. Ash and Pikachu shared stunned looks.

'A water gym...' He trailed off. Ash and Pikachu shared a glance before immediately turning around to leave. Pikachu did not have the control to fight a water gym without seriously hurting a water pokemon just like that butterfree. They paused when someone called from inside the gym.

'Are you here for a gym battle?' Ash looked over his shoulder to a young girl, maybe a year old than him with light red hair. She wore a one piece bathing suit with a towel around her neck. Ash turned back.

'Not yet, we will be back in a bit. We are not ready for your gym.' The young girl looked between him and the pikachu on his shoulder. She had expected some one different when Brock mentioned a pikachu. The unnamed girl resisted the urge to call him out for bringing an electric type to her gym, but stopped when the young boy looked disappointed.

'Well, I'm Misty, the Cerulean City Gym leader. When ever you are ready, come on in.' Misty turned back to her gym.

Ash scratched his pokemon's head. 'Come on Pikachu, let's go find us a partner.'

-o-

After spending the past six weeks with Pikachu, Ash knew he would need to get more pokemon. He was honestly surprised with himself. As a younger child he had dreamed of getting so many pokemon he wouldn't know what to do with them. Now that he had spent so many weeks with only Pikachu, it honestly slipped his mind that he _should_ search for more teammates. That was until he was in Pewter City where Brock expected to have a two versus two pokemon battle.

Ash cleared the bit of forrest and started back on the road to Cerulean. There were only so many open area's where wild pokemon would live so close to Cerulean City. Ash found himself backed up into a corner with the pokemon he did find. There were a few city pidgey that flew out of town, even few rattata who were more interested in stealing food than fighting. The forest area near town was devoid of any pokemon or they were already weary of humans to even let a kid approach them. After a disappointing day, Ash decided to return to the pokemon center.

While Ash did not find any more pokemon that the pair could agreed on, Pikachu spent most of his time attempting to tune down his power. Pikachu did not have the iron in the ground to amplify his electric attacks, but he had gotten used to using the ground to help channel his electricity. Ash looked at Pikachu just as he "chaa" a cry of joy at the mattress they would sleep on for the night. Ash had a few idea's about the electricity problem if they had to rely on him. Those plans could wait for the morning.

'Ok pikachu, good night.' Ash said abruptly knowing he was running away from an argument again when pikachu started to hiss at him before turning into red energy. The pokeball shifted in his palm a few times in pikachu's attempt to stress his protests at being in the ball. Ash nearly let it get away from him before he reached Nurse Joy's counter.

Ash sighed at the ball. 'Pikachu we have been over this. The fact is; you heal and recover from exhaustion faster when you are in a pokeball and sent through the pokecenter recovery unit.' Ash have the ball an annoyed look.

'You definitely show more energy when you come out the next day.'

The pokeball shifted again. Ash got the distinct impression Pikachu was sulking. Ash handed the pokeball to an amused Nurse Joy.

'Good evening Mr. Ketchum,' Nurse Joy said in between giggles. 'Your pokemon seems to be giving you a hard time staying in his ball.'

'Yeah. He never liked it. This is Pikachu's second pokeball actually.' Nurse Joy looked at him curiously. Ash laughed to himself before explaining. 'He was originally captured because he was a pest at the lab in my town. When it was time to release him he was happy to be free of the damn thing. It was only after he decided to partner up with me that I told him that he should stay in his pokeball when we rests up.'

Nurse Joy smiled at that and took his pokeball into the back room to connect to the recovery unit with the other pokemon. When Nurse Joy came back out she noted that the young boy was still there. 'Was there any thing else I can help you with Mr. Ketchum?'

'Actually I had a couple of questions. Are there any good places within a days travel I can look for different pokemon? Also, do you have any suggestions how to discharge electricity for my pikachu? He built up a lot of energy when we traveled from Pewter City.'

Nurse Joy knew exactly what he was talking about. 'The iron deposits bothered him then?'

Ash tilted his head remembering Pikachu's joy at blowing up rocks around them on the way to Cerulean. 'Kinda.'

Nurse Joy giggled at the sheepish response. She opened the side door and gestured for Ash to follow her.

'We have a few machines we use to help a few pokemon including electric ones.' She passed several doors before opening one half way down the hall. Ash walked in and looked at the machine that sat in the center of the room. It looked like a table with a giant cylinder behind it with a spot lamp above it.

'So what does it do exactly?'

'It will draw power from the pokemon to help relax the stressed electric pouches pokemon like Pikachu has. It will allow for quicker static discharge too.'

Nurse Joy suddenly started before she felt for her pocket where a small device was vibrating. She took off running and pulled out a pokeball. The sudden urgency made Ash follow her. Ash could hear the clang and clatter in a room at the end of the hall they started in.

Nurse Joy was more athletic than Ash gave her credit for, as she leapt over a table in a new room and out another door. Ash entered the new room just as Nurse Joy released her pokemon. 'Chansey, Sing.'

Chansey immediately sang a soothing tune that calmed Ash. A soft clattering came to lazy halt as floating metal trays, chairs and tables slowly fell to the ground. Nurse Joy sighed. 'Thank you Chansey, will you be a dear and start cleaning up? I'll be back to help you as soon as I can.' The pink pokemon coo'ed before it began to clean up the mess with her limited psychic powers. Ash looked around the debris to find a small yellow pokemon sound asleep. Nurse Joy went over to the pokemon and checked to make sure it was sound asleep.

'What is it Nurse Joy?' asked Ash while surveying the damage to the room.

Nurse Joy picked up the pokemon and cradled it in her arms. 'This is the trouble maker of the Cerulean Center. This is Psyduck.'

Ash took out his pokedex to take a moment to glance over the entry before putting it away. 'So it has a perpetual headache?'

Nurse Joy nodded. 'It is the worse headache I've seen in a pokemon of his type. He either tries to hold it in and then goes catatonic for a while, or he releases it and things like that happen. I am out of my depth with this pokemon and am tempted to send it to one of my sisters who studies psychic pokemon.'

'How long has he been here?'

Nurse Joy carried the pokemon to another room that looked like a barracks and placed the pokemon on a boxed shape bed. It curled up and began to snore. 'Not too long. About two months. He has been passed from place to place in an attempt to help it. A few trainers have tried to train him too with no luck. He was brought to Cerulean in hopes of the water gym leader Misty would be able to help him. But she was not successful.'

Ash hummed at that.

-o-

Ash woke up the next morning late. He stayed up late with Nurse Joy to clean up the room and only after showering and getting pikachu did he realized how long pikachu was cooped up in his pokeball. Ash flinched at that and went to the main desk to ask for his pokemon. He promptly went to an empty waiting room couch and let his pokemon out. Pikachu turned and glared at him before tackling him with a 'Pika!'. Pikachu nipped his trainer a few times. Ash held his pokemon and hugged him.

'Hey I'm sorry Pikachu. A few things came up and I ended sleeping in. And I think we are going to take a break from training and looking for pokemon today. I found a pokemon I want to try and help.' Ash offered his arm at the same time Pikachu sparked electricity in curiosity. Pikachu ran up it and took his perch on the young trainers' shoulder. Ash took off his hat and put it on pikachu before walking over to Nurse Joy.

'Nurse Joy do you mind if I take a look at Psyduck? I want to ask you both a few questions.'

Nurse Joy pursed her lips while thinking it over. She already had a feeling what he would ask, and Ash was not the first pokemon trainer who thought they could train psyduck. More than a few had hurt themselves trying. 'Fine, but I'll have you know I am not so sure if he's feeling up to having visitors.'

The group went down the hall and into the ward for sleeping pokemon. Psyduck sat on his box spring bed looking vacantly at nothing with his hands on his head. Ash thought, _Can you hear me?_ Psyduck turned slightly to his left as if trying to hear something that was faint. Ash smiled as he walked up to the duck pokemon. He stood in front of psyduck. The pokemon did not even notice.

Aloud Ash asked again, 'Psyduck, can you hear me?' Psyduck refocused his eyes to look in front of him. It quacked at him.

'Psyduck try and listen for my thoughts ok?' Psyduck began to look past him again not really noticing Nurse Joy look at the pair oddly.

 _Psyduck_. Psyduck titled his head again as if listening closely. _Can you try and silence my voice in your head? Don't try and ignore me, try and pull back your mind away from mine._ Ash suddenly felt as if psyduck's mind was a force that enveloped him. _Come on Psyduck. I know you can do this. Just pull back your mind away from me._ Slowly the force that was focused on Ash began to pull away from him. _Good job Psyduck_. Ash thought to the pokemon even as he had the feeling Psyduck could not hear him.

Psyduck quacked again. 'Ok Psyduck, try it again with Nurse Joy while still holding in your power from me.' Psyduck slowly lowered his hands from his head and his eyes glowed. Nurse Joy gasped suddenly before she swooned. She quickly caught her self and relaxed as the feeling of dizziness passed over her and left just as quickly.

'Psyduck!' The yellow pokemon quacked happily before closing its eyes and swaying back and forth. Pikachu squeaked before glaring at the psychic pokemon.

'Relax Pikachu, he's learning.' The calm voice relaxed Pikachu but the mouse looked at the duck warily.

Psyduck opened its eyes and looked around before flinching and gripping his head again. The pokemon gave a sad sigh before his eyes began to zone out. Ash silently stood still while he thought about that reaction.

'How did you know to tell psyduck to pull back his power?'

Ash turned to Nurse Joy, 'Really if you think about it, energy is energy. I've been working with pikachu for over a month with him out of his ball. I guess I got a little sensitive to it. I thought the energy I was feeling while staying here was Pikachu's until I finally met Psyduck. It makes sense that it wasn't Pikachu's. I never felt his electrical energy when he was sleeping in his pokeball.' Psyduck leaned back slightly. Apparently he had tried to focus on them to listen before going back to staring at nothing. Ash petted the yellow water pokemon affectionately.

'Um, Nurse Joy do you mind if...'

'If it means you can help the little guy, you can do what ever you want. You made more progress than any other trainer I've seen.' Nurse Joy said quickly while looking hopefully at Psyduck. She folded her hands and held them closely to her chest while looking at the pokemon.

Ash smiled ruefully. 'He doesn't have a pokeball, does he?'

Nurse Joy nodded sadly. 'He is just a wild pokemon, he was found causing a mess on cinnabar island.'

It was an odd scene to passers by to see a ten year old boy with a psyduck in his backpack. The psychic pokemon's head poked out the top while an annoyed looking pikachu walked beside his trainer, his normal perch denied.

Ash was not sure how far he should take the psychic pokemon but he wanted to give the small pokemon a break from so many minds that were in town. The pokedex said that psyduck's who were exceptionally strong had a hard time to tune out outside minds and it was not a latent skill until after they evolved. The catch was that in order to evolve to the next level, psyduck in particular need to have control to handle the new evolution, leaving psyduck's as a very difficult pokemon to handle for any trainer.

It was getting dark when Ash had decided to stop. He smiled briefly and hoped he wouldn't make a habit of camping out of towns before every gym battle. He looked away from Cerulean city and took the duck pokemon out of his back pack and gently snapped his fingers. Psyduck quickly refocused on him.

'So its easier to focus when there are not so many people around right?' The pokemon nodded its head and stood up. Its hands were on its head still but it quacked and started walking around and really looking at where they were.

Ash smiled at the change. 'Ok Psyduck. We are going to camp out here tonight. But I want you to try and practice pulling in your powers. Let your powers relax and expand, then close back into you.' Ash let his arms spread out and pull back into his body along with his explanation. 'Just by practicing we might be able to get you used to doing it from everything, not just one mind at a time. Ok?'

Psyduck quacked at him and plopped on the ground content to lowering his arms and focusing on the exercise. Ash felt the effects of the psychic push. It was enough that dust slightly moved around them. Ash turned to Pikachu.

'Ok, we don't have much daylight left. So I want you to start practicing jumping into the air and targeting tree branches. Maybe if you get used to feeling what its like just using your own electricity, you can try and channel down your electricity while on the ground.'

Pikachu looked at him curiously but after the first attempt Pikachu understood what his trainer meant. While in the air, all the electricity is being drawn directly from him, and not from the native charge of the ground. This continued for some time while Ash started collecting rocks and dry wood to make camp. There was an occasional yip from either Pikachu or Psyduck while he set up the camp fire from their work out.

Finally Ash called them to stop for now. Ash passed out the pokeblocks and ate a small bowl of soup. He looked at both pokemon, Pikachu look satisfied with his workout, and Psyduck looked content with his eyes focusing on his pokeblocks.

'I'm glad you are relaxed now Psyduck. How do you feel?' Psyduck quacked. His eyes briefly glowed before Ash felt the energy that he was beginning to associate with psychic energy envelop him. Ash felt his mind washed over with feelings. Relaxed, Tired, Happy, Worried, Ash felt the emotions quickly cycle faster in his head.

'Slowly pull back your power Psyduck. I understand you.' The thoughts and frustration began to build as Psyduck tried to pull back his power. Ash felt him get anxious and did what he did the last time Psyduck began to loose focus.

Ash snapped his fingers.

Psyduck refocused on seeing Ash instead of thinking to Ash. The young trainer sighed in relief.

'Good job recovering Psyduck.' Ash praised while he add another stick to the fire. When the young boy sat down next to Psyduck, Pikachu hopped on his lap and curled up to nap. Ash smiled and began to pet his first pokemon and saw Psyduck look at him. Ash decided that Psyduck would like a distraction that did not come from his own mind.

'How about I tell you how I met Pikachu here?'

-o-

Ash had thought he was going to go back to town the next morning. But after seeing Psyduck look at the town and instantly loose focus he decided against it. Instead, he slowly moved their camp a few miles closer to town all the while asking Psyduck to pull back his power in different ways. The exercises stressed and tired the pokemon out. On one day he slept the entire day but did not look like he was in pain. Just exhausted. When he woke up early the next morning Ash looked at the pokemon who eagerly impressed an image of Ash giving him instructions. Ash looked at the clock that said 4 a.m. Ash grimaced slightly and instructed the Psyduck to walk around the camp and look for minds then pull back his power from them when he found them. Ash hoped the multitasking would wear out the pokemon quickly and let them go back to sleep.

Unfortunately Psyduck was so energized from the rest he circled around the camp with a happy quack and practiced for hours. Ash and Pikachu laughed and cheered with Psyduck as he could look at the town a few miles away and not zone out.

The outing ended a week after it started. Psyduck still had trouble when they entered town, but he was now walking on his own with his hands on his head and obediently listening to Ash.

Ash called it a victory.

-o-

When the trio of trainer and pokemon entered the pokecenter, Psyduck ran ahead and quacked happily at Nurse Joy. She was amazed at the difference. Psyduck would occasionally look at a group of people in the pokecenter but immediately refocus. His eyes would glow when ever he pulled back his powers. Nurse Joy escorted the group to the back room and did a full check up on Psyduck announcing a clean bell of health and agreed Psyduck no longer needs to be at the center now that he could pull back his powers. Ash agreed with her after she coo'ed at Psyduck.

'He will need more time practicing but I think we got him a good idea of what he can do for him self.' Ash pulled out his pokedex and scanned the little pokemon one more time. Psyduck looked at the device curiously. It was the first time he saw the little machine. Ash showed the pokemon, 'Look Psyduck, that's you. You are getting better. Good job.'

Nurse Joy complimented the duck pokemon as well. Finally Nurse Joy asked, 'So what are your plans for the three of you?'

Ash looked up surprised. Nurse Joy smiled amazed at the boys selflessness if he had no intention of keeping the Psyduck. 'It is obvious you can train Psyduck. I think it would be good for the three of you to have Psyduck go with you.'

Ash petted the little psyduck. Pikachu cheered at the idea of Psyduck being their new partner. Ash knelt in front of Psyduck.

'I started looking for another partner for our team because Pikachu did not have the control to fight and not injure another pokemon. We think we finally trained that under control now, but that still doesn't stop us from wanting you as a partner too. Would you like to come with us?'

Psyduck tilted his head and began to look around. Ash smiled slightly at the fading look before snapping his fingers and pointing to his eyes. The little yellow duck pokemon turned back to Ash. 'I think you will be a great pokemon for our team. I'll help you learn to focus with better control. But I am a competing trainer so you will learn to battle too. What do you say?'

Ash produced an empty pokeball in his hand. The psyduck moved closer to it and let one of his hands go from his head and clicked the pokeball button.

-o-

Ash walked into the domed building after nearly ten days being in and around the town. The young boy was thinking he would have to pick up his pace soon if he wanted to get all the badges he wanted before trying to enter the Kanto Conference in his first year of training. Ash pushed that thought aside for now.

Just inside the doors the smell of chlorine hit his nose. He scrunched it for a moment until he got used to the smell. The gym was a large pool with a floating island in the middle. Ash noted it wasn't ice but some kind of hard surface float.

'Hello Misty. My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I've come for a gym battle.'

Misty sat on the life guard chair ten feet above the pool at the end of the room. She let a white towel wrap around her shoulders and her body was just drying from her latest swim. When Misty saw the boy returned she nodded him. Ash took that as his cue to get ready. The boy walked up to the challengers square and set down his back pack. He pulled out his pokedex and patted his belt.

Misty smiled as Ash released two pokemon. A pikachu and a psyduck. It was a unique combination.

'Welcome to the Cerulean City Gym. I had wondered what happened to you. Its been a while since I saw you at my gym's door. This will be a two on two match with no substitutions. Please choose your first pokemon.'

Ash knelt down to Pikachu and whispered some instructions to him. Misty watched the strategy session with more amusement than anything. She had faced her fair share of electric pokemon as a water gym leader. While she weeded out the completely incompetent ones, she had asked around the usual gym leader circles about a trainer with a pikachu. It was a rare enough pokemon that the leaders would know if they fought someone that had one. Low and behold, Brock confirmed this was the one he had described all those weeks ago.

Misty's respect for Ash had gone up after that. She knew exactly why he refused to fight her right away. It was a respect for pokemon she could completely support. But for someone as creative as this Ash was, she had to make him run through his paces. Misty stood up and pulled a pokemon that sat on the chair's armrest. She patiently waited for Ash to let her know he was ready.

-o-

When Ash released Psyduck, Psyduck looked blankly for a moment before it caught it self and began to refocus. Its hands still clutched tightly to its head but it turned to look at Ash.

'You are not battling for a while Psyduck, but I want you to watch this fight. You will need to learn what it is like to fight in a pokemon battle. I want you to follow the fight through Pikachu's eyes. Just like that exercise with following that rattata around when we were camping. You will understand what I am talking about. If it becomes too hard, you can see through my eyes.'

'Psy.' agreed the duck even as it lowered its hands and closed its eyes.

'Pikachu you are up. Show Psyduck how it's done.'

Pikachu let out a 'Chaa!' before he jumped off the challenger's stand and onto the floating island. Immediately the island rocked from the slight weight. The island was truly floating in the water. Pikachu turned back to Ash and pawed its foot in signal. Ash gave a grin before he raised his pokedex. Ash turned his hat backwards with his free hand to keep it out his eyes in case one of the pokemon went airborne.

Misty watched the little mouse pokemon. Her expectations were high but she knew her type disadvantage would keep her in check.

'Starmie go!'

A purple star pokemon spun in the air and dove into the water.

'Begin!' Shouted someone above them.

Ash resisted to look up. He had not realized they were not the only ones in the arena.

'Pikachu draw Starmie out I need a read on her.' Ash ordered.

Pikachu burst into a blur of speed running quickly on the island. He ran quickly in a circle along the whole length of thirty feet for several seconds befuddling Misty before she snorted in understanding. She looked up to see Ash watching her and gauging her reaction. Misty gave Ash an appreciative wink as the island began to spin. Pikachu quick attacked high into the air.

'Pikachu slam the island.' Ash called.

Pikachu spun its body around its tail and jack knifed his tail hard into the island. The spinning island bobbed in the water thrusting hundreds of gallons of water in to the air...

Along with Starmie.

Ash clicked and started pulling up information on the pokemon. It was unfortunate during his training with psyduck he had not had the fore thought to take Psyduck near the water. It was thoughtless mistake that Ash did not want to repeat in the future. Especially with how it saved Pikachu from Brock's Geodude.

'Starmie land on the island and make it stop spinning. Watergun to soak the island.' If Ash was thinking of electrocuting her pokemon, he was going to take the hit too.

'Pikachu quick attack to Starmie. Keep her on the island.' Pikachu burst into a yellow blur of speed as it circled around the purple star and tackled the water pokemon away from the edge.

'Starmie tackle it back. Show him you can't be bullied that easily.' Misty called looking on while both Pikachu and Starmie locked heads in the middle of the island.

'Pikachu. Show him you're more than a small mouse.'

There was a terrible rumble that emitted from the back of pikachu's throat. It was as if starmie was fighting against something that weighed eight hundred pounds and was ten feet tall. Pikachu ended the growl with a savage bite. Starmie cried in pain just as Pikachu leaned back still with starmie in his mouth and threw the larger pokemon into the air.

In mid air Misty called to her pokemon, 'Starmie, bubble beam.'

Ash didn't even have the chance to register the attack's name as rows of bubbles burst and hit the island hard, starmie was intent on knocking Pikachu out in one hit. The island gave a large crack. Pikachu was pushed on the defensive. He was fast but the bubbles from the new attack were as fast as any swift attack he did. At least they were not accurate. The island broke into three parts that began to float apart from each other. Starmie was falling into the water having spent a good portion of its energy in that attack.

'Pikachu quick attack Starmie to keep it in the air. Juggle it!' Ash commanded as he noticed how the islands were still relatively close together.

Pikachu cried out a 'Chaa!' Pikachu's first quick attack was a lot weaker than he wanted it to be. It was meant to push the heavier pokemon back into the air. The following three quick attacks were what really hurt Misty's pokemon. When Pikachu quick attacked into Starmie he would push the start pokemon into the air again and rebound off one of the small islands to do it again. Pikachu stopped when he noticed that Starmie did not respond to a final hit. Instead he quick attacked the pokemon to gently push it out to the water where it could make a softer landing rather than hitting the hard ground on the island.

Misty sighed in relief. That one gesture earned Ash his badge regardless of the outcome of the rest of the match.

'Good eye pikachu.' Ash called happy with the outcome. Pikachu pulled back. Above them Misty's Starmie was declared knocked out.

Misty recalled her Starmie. 'You did great Starmie. I know its not how we are used to fighting with you. But you can expect that we will want a rematch some day. We'll need to adapt. Just like the water.' Misty put away that pokeball and reached for her second. She had asked for her sister's advice about this one. And it was Lily who happily pointed out that Dewgong would be the best bet for this one.

Misty had never had the opportunity to work with a dewgong before. Lily usually hogged all of the time with her. But Misty had seen enough of dewgong's abilities to know what this pokemon could do. Misty was thankful Ash waited so long. She wanted this to be a real challenge and she needed to get practice with this pokemon.

'Go Dewgong.'

The white seal pokemon dove into the water and emerged out of the water and slid on its belly and came to a stop on the island nearest to Misty.

Ash quickly read and clicked off his pokedex. He committed the quick tidbits he got from it to memory. 'Pikachu it's a mix of ice and water. If we give them an opening they will freeze you.'

'Pikapika!' Pikachu called back in understanding.

'Second match begin!' Ash really wanted to look up and see who the hell was watching from above the gym lights. It unnerved him that he had an audience.

'Dewgong, plant an icebeam on each of the floats. Make it harder for him to run around!' Dewgong called out and started shooting beams of pure ice at each island. Loud cracks accompanied the ice as it began to swell over the islands. Pikachu jumped up into the air and landed on a sheet of ice. The mouse used his tail and claws to keep himself upright as the island rocked back and forth while he struggled to keep his feet planted. Ash was watching and noted they did not get the chance to keep dewgong on the defensive like they did with Starmie.

'Pikachu, Swift. Keep dewgong worried about avoiding attacks.'

Pikachu shot several volley's of energy turned stars into at the pokemon. Dewgong dove into the water to avoid the first wave. Pikachu started another wave and turned his head and body hard. The stars twisted in an arc into the water. Pikachu started bounding between the islands and firing another volley of swift with every leap to a new island.

'Dewgong draw them back to the islands.' Pikachu saw the first island explode. He soon had to stop as Dewgong drew the stars back to the second island leaving even smaller debris he could not stand on. Dewgong was quick and agile in the water. Swift was not a garunteed hit under water. Pikachu was forced to jump to a small piece of debris large enough for him to stand on and not be immediately submerged by water. The island was barely five feet wide.

'Dewgong. It's your turn. Aurora beam.'

Ash watched at the dewgong's shadow moved quickly through the water. The seal jumped out while it turned its head to Pikachu. A solid multi-colored beam launched itself at Pikachu. Pikachu raised his tail and planted his feet. He remembered Ash saying energy is energy. It was time to test that idea. 'PIKAH!' Pikachu shouted to refocused the energy. The rainbow energy turned into white light then into sparks of electricity briefly before blowing up and knocking Pikachu into the water. Pikachu surfaced quickly and tried to use its tail to push it self out of the water to no avail. The yellow pokemon could feel Dewgong swim quickly to finish him off.

'Pikachu, the debris!' Called Ash. It was the first sound of alarm in Ash's voice the entire match. Pikachu reached the small bits of debris unsure for once what Ash had in mind. His answer soon came to him as the debris began to naturally attract to him like a ball of white feather light rocks wrapping him up. Pikachu grabbed several more pieces and put them between him and the Dewgong.

'Dewgong headbutt.' Misty called now that Dewgong built up enough momentum that should knock out the mouse pokemon.

Just as the Dewgong making its approach Ash called out. 'Plant your stars!'

Pikachu started channeling energy for his swift attack and let them float in the water. The next moment Dewgong hit the debris Pikachu was holding. The impact knocked the air out of Pikachu's lungs but did no real damage. Just as he was pushed into the air, a large boom was felt underneath him. Dewgong just swam into the floating half formed stars in the water. The pool erupted into a geyser that threw up gallons of water into the air. PIkachu pushed away the sticky bits of island that clung to him. With out needing his trainers command, Pikachu shot several waves of swift at the dewgong. The seal pokemon showed its agility while in mid air and was able to dodge the first few before it was pummeled by three more stars and dropped into the water.

'Dewgong icebeam that whole island!' Misty pointed at the island where Pikachu was standing . Pikachu started running as the whole sections of the island began to turn into blocks of ice. Pikachu ran and could hear the cracks of ice being made right on his tail. From behind him he heard Ash.

'Pikachu plant more stars. Ride the current to Dewgong. Show him you can move fast in water too!"

Pikachu grinned as he understood and jumped into the water just below Misty. The water gym leader did not know exactly what caused the geyser. She had thought dewgong would have ended pikachu's reign during the match but the water knocked dewgong into the air. But now she was able to see what pikachu did and she giggled at the little water mines that fell deep into the water that then exploded and pushed a large wave of water at dewgong. Pikachu grabbed a piece of debris and used it to keep afloat the large wave just as dewgong was sucked into it and pushed towards Ash's side of the ring.

'Pikachu body slam her against the last island.'

Pikachu pushed hard off the little float. He then used a quick attack to clear the distance to Dewgong. The seal pokemon was just beginning to reorient himself in the water wave to retaliate when she was hit. Dewgong was knocked out of the wave and landed heavily onto the island before Pikachu put all his weight and momentum hard into a single blow that landed square in dewgong's chest. The lonely island cracked under the impact and began to split apart as the wave hit. The water wave finally caught up to them and pushed the two further to Ash's side of the ring. Dewgong hit the wall on Ash's corner hard then slowly floated face-up clearly knocked out.

'Winner Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!'

Ash cheered with pikachu. He patted psyducks head and the little duck seemed to snap awake and cheered too. Pikachu was still paddling in place to keep itself afloat.

'Here pikachu.' Ash recalled his pokemon briefly before letting him back out but next to him. Pikachu immediately shook his fur spraying Ash and Psyduck. Ash laughed while protecting his face from the spray. 'You did an amazing job there buddy. That worked out much better than we thought it would. Don't you think so Psyduck?'

The duck pokemon quacked in excitement waving his arms wildly at his sides. Psyduck was too thrilled and caught up in Ash's excitement to mind any kind of minor headache he was feeling. Ash tried to pull a piece of debris that stubbornly stuck to Pikachu only for it to fly back onto the pokemons' head. Ash started laughing while explaining to Pikachu what happens to styrofoam and static electricity. Even in water.

Misty recalled Dewgong and looked up to the stands. Above her, her sisters clapped in appreciation. Lily smiled at her little sister and put up her hands with all her fingers open. She mouthed out the word _TEN_ with a wink _._ Misty laughed to her self. It was an amazing match. Misty jumped into the pool and began to swim over to Ash. Her mind was all jumbled in a thousand thoughts. How the match played out. The realization half way through Dewgong's fight that Ash did not use any electrical attacks. To the understanding that the psyduck was the one she looked at a month ago. To seeing Ash and his pokemon cheer. Misty felt reinvigorated after the fight. It was rare to be part of such a good fight. She wish she had more of them.

When she pulled up to Ash's side of the ring, Ash was there waiting for her. He gave out his hand to her. She grinned and took the hand. Once out of the water she pushed back her hair out of her face. 'That was an amazing match Ash. Brock gave me a warning, but I really wasn't prepared for half the things you pulled there.'

Misty pulled up part of her top and unclipped something that was facing her chest. Ash noted the line of four pins that faced her skin. Ash noticed a few other things for a moment and turned to look at his pokemon while she finished. 'Here Ash, you earned it.'

Ash took the pin and palmed it before pikachu and psyduck tugged on his pants legs to look. Ash looked at Misty to thank her, but she had just stepped pack to gesture to his pokemon. 'Here you go guys, our second badge. We learned a lot today.' Ash's pokemon stared at it excitedly. Ash left it on the ground for them to play with as he stood back up to see Misty play with a tuft of her hair waiting for him.

'Thank you for the match Misty.'

'Thank you for coming Ash. Really you were very considerate. Did you decide not to use electricity because you came from Pewter City?'

Ash wanted to say they had solved that problem. But he felt he did not want to share that he held back to show Psyduck what a neutral battle would look like.

'Yeah. Pikachu and I think we were ready, but I did not want to tempt fate if he lost control. Not after he had to channel so much energy just to hurt a rock pokemon.'

Misty hummed at the answer before she stepped closer. 'I am thankful. You did show me something else that had me smiling the whole final fight with Dewgong Mr. Ketchum.' Misty giggled as she knelt next to pikachu. In an exaggerated whisper she called out to pikachu.

'Pst. Pikachu.' Pikachu looked away from the shiny blue badge and back to the gym leader. 'I just wanted to let you know, some how you are half way from learning surf, a water type move.' Ash and Pikachu looked at her surprised. Back in her normal voice and standing upright she laughed excitedly at the idea of an electric pokemon with a water move.

'I am not joking. By planting energy in the water and letting it compress and expand is just the way to start making the surf move. Really Pikachu has got the hardest part down. The next part is just figuring out the appropriate depths to let the energy release and collapse. If you two work on it he could probably figure it out before your Psyduck if you plan to teach him that move.'

Ash smiled at the idea too. Pikachu chittered with excitement and Psyduck just sat there basking in the positive energy. Ash and Misty started walking further into the gym talking about pokemon moves with Pikachu picking up his badge and following. Psyduck sat there tranquilly before being converted into a red beam of energy and placed back in his ball. Ash knew Psyduck could enjoy the positive energy from any where, including his pokeball.

Misty and Ash sat down at a table in a cramped dining room. Each had a can of sweet milk. It was only a brief pause in the middle of their conversation that started hours ago. 'I still don't know if I am ever going to go on that vacation I have been promising my self. I've been an active gym leader for nearly three years now.'

Ash whistled. That would have made her nine when she started leading the gym and the Cerulean water pokemon classes. 'Are your sisters just not interested?'

Misty giggled to her self while looking at Pikachu throw his bottle into the garbage with his tail. 'It was more of me wanting to be a grown up and take the position. My sister's never did have their hearts in it. And I did. It was a win win for everyone involved. But the longer it's been going on, I see my sisters come back from trips all over Kanto and the wanderer in me wanted to go exploring too. I don't know... I can't do that right now. The gym needs me.'

Ash nodded in appreciation. With out thinking Ash suggested, 'Maybe I'll send a piece of Kanto to you.'

Misty looked up in surprised and smiled widely. Her grin was infectious. 'What? Like a souvenir?'

Ash threw his empty can away. He slowly built up the idea 'Yeah... One from every major city I visit. It will be a promise that you will go there to see those sites some day.'

Misty blushed at the thought of him sending her gifts. 'You don't have to Ash. A picture is enough. Maybe someday you can show me around the places you visit instead.' She said excitedly.

Ash picked up on the enthusiasm and added. 'We'll take it one town at a time! You save up that vacation time and I'll be happy to drag you across the country when you are ready.'

Both of them laughed at the idea neither were really sure would ever be a possibility.

-o-

Ash had originally planned to start traveling right after his match with Misty. Psyduck would not have fought and Pikachu could have rested in his ball since they would just be sticking to the main road and just not accept challenges.

But after he started having his conversation about water techniques with Misty, Ash found himself unwilling to leave the water gym. Misty was a bright light of energy who was extremely knowledgeable about water pokemon. Ash wished he had thought to stay and talk to Brock about rock pokemon.

It was early the next morning with both Pikachu and Psyduck rested at the pokemon center that Ash left Cerulean City. He had made a fast friend with Misty and would miss her. She was the first friend he had made on his journey and he hoped he would make more. He even got her contact id if he ever felt like reaching out to her to chat. Misty had threated him if he didn't. Ash found himself grinning at the idea of chatting with her again.

-o-

Misty sat on the edge of the pool. It took all day to clear out debris from yesterdays fight and it was now being emptied to give it a good scrub down. She had a resting smile on her face. Misty felt immensely satisfied from yesterdays match.

'Thank you for letting me use Dewgong. She is a beautiful pokemon. I can't say I am actually disappointed in loosing though.'

Misty turned to look up to her older sister who had silently stood next to her while the pool drained.

'It was a great match. You really proved your self out there too you know. Dewgong is really hard to control if you are not confident. And she obeyed you because she knew you were in charge. It's hard to gain dewgong's trust in a scant few days. Are you thinking of still going on vacation to train?'

Misty shook her head. 'I think I am going to keep training in town. I saw what I think I needed to learn yesterday. I look forward to overcome this stall in my own training.'

Lily smiled indulgently before adding in a calm tone. 'You know I really had to reign in your sisters to not tease you about that boy Ash.'

Misty just rolled her eyes. 'He is not the first boy I talked to after a match. And it was all about pokemon.' She lied straight faced.

Lily felt the laugh leave her voice as she said, 'True but he has got to be the first one you gave a show.'

'What do you even mean by that?' Misty stood up to look at her sister, unsure what her Lily meant.

Lily wore a swim suit that was pretty close to the one Misty wore the day before. She simply leaned forward slightly and pulled up the strap revealing a good amount of cleavage. Misty looked down and paled slightly. That is exactly how she took off the badge pin that usually stayed clipped on her swim suit.

'And I was not the one that had a swim suit cling to me from swimming.' She winked at her little sister and walked away. Misty just buried her head in her hands covering her face that was as red as her hair.

A/N: updated a few inconsistencies. most people won't notice. but I added a few clarifying actions to help the narative along for later chapters. 9/5/16. updated from cellphone.


	3. Chapter 3: Pride

Chapter 3

Ash smiled as he finished the registration. He had stumbled into the towns' tournament on accident while trying to cut across the forest to Celadon City. The village hosted an annual tournament during the summer to help attract tourists and it was exactly what he was looking for to help Psyduck catch up to pikachu. Ash made special note to sign up for the fighting bracket with limited one on one battles for single elimination rounds. When he left the registration booth Ash took out both of his pokeballs and released them onto the grass. Pikachu and Psyduck shuddered at the feeling before they shared a glare towards their trainer. Ash smiled in spite of himself. How did he manage to get two pokemon that hate being in their pokeballs?

'Alright guys, we are entering a tournament. This will be all your show Psyduck. We are in the singles bracket so you won't have to worry about other trainers switching out pokemon like we do on the highway.' Ash knelt down and looked at his duck pokemon.

'I promised you we would get some practice in before you started gym battling and this is it. We have done a few matches with kids along the highways, but this will be a real battle against other fully trained and experienced pokemon.'

Psyduck quacked happily all the while keeping his focus on Ash's hand while the boy talked. Ash flexed his hands in a practiced gesture for the pokemon to look up at Ash's face. 'This will be a big step for you if you can win, the main prize is a training machine that would help you a lot. If we can win it, you will have an easier time staying focused.'

Psyduck felt the hope come from Ash and cheered with it's yellow arms spread out. Ash and pikachu laughed with the yellow duck pokemon. Ash turned to Pikachu. 'While we battle, I am going to have to have you sit on the side lines buddy. I will need to have the room to make sure Psyduck stays focused.' Pikachu agreed already knowing how Ash had to move to get Psyduck to fight with any sense of normalcy.

'The tournament starts tomorrow so we are just going to get you both out of your pokeballs and have you both relax.' Pikachu sighed at his trainers comment. He knew that meant camping out at the woods instead of staying at the pokemon center inn.

The next morning started early for them. Ash stood directly behind Psyduck. They both gave a slow inhale then exhale. Ash moved his arms out and Psyduck followed the motion while he inhaled deeply. Pikachu never did like it when Psyduck tried to use his mind to see through his own eyes. The mouse watched the pair just happy enough his trainer did not ask him to join their exercise.

Psyduck settled into a relax sitting position. It exhaled and looked up in sync with Ash. 'Alright Psyduck. If we can keep this up all day, we will win for sure.'

Two hours later, Ash and Psyduck stood in the ring waiting for their opponent. Ash could feel Psyduck's anxiousness through their psychic connection. He reached his hand out to his Pokemon with a gentle calming nudge. The pokemon responded with a calm sigh. Ash nodded in approval. Psyduck has come a long way in the past few weeks both before and after he became Ash's Pokemon. But unfamiliar crowds still bothered him and has made him loose focus in the past.

The whole tournament should be a good experience for him, even if they fight a really strong opponent and loose in the first round. Ash snapped out of his own thoughts. Their opponent got into the ring. The fights were held in an open field with a circular ring with just faint lines indicating where the trainers should stand. The crowd was large for such a small town. But Ash never did see how full the town was the night before.

The battles took up the entirety of the city park. The city streets were cut off and instead of cars were filled with booths and games. Ash was tempted to look around and play some games after the tournament. It all depended on how well or badly they performed today.

The announcer started introducing the two competitors. Ash ignored him in favor of seeing his opponent and the pokemon he released.

A nidoran glared back at him.

Ash's mouth quirked at the memory of his potential starters. Without saying a word, Ash thought the image of pikachu moving fast. Himself being sick when he ate some bad food, and psyduck demonstrating how much he hated being in the water.

Psyduck gave a verbal quack. It took nearly four days for Ash to really find a way to make Psyduck understand him when his pokemon reached out to his mind. Abstract images did the best job. Psyduck took his position in the ring and closed his eyes for a moment and opened them. Ash felt Psyduck see everything from Ash's prospective. Psyduck had a hard time moving quickly. He just did not have the physical awareness of his own body. Ash and Psyduck came up with a quick and dirty solution by Psyduck seeing through his trainer's eyes for brief moments to see the ring as a whole.

The move would cost precious extra seconds in a hard fought match. But it was all in the name of making Psyduck understand the physical world around him rather than the psychic world he saw with his mind enveloping the area.

'Trainers! This is a single round challenge. The match is determined by knock out. Begin!'

Ash took a step back and raised his hands. Psyduck copied the move and both Ash and Psyduck thrust their hands out towards the unsuspecting nidoran. The nidoran froze at it felt something hit him. His trainer called for their first attack. 'Poison sting' Nidoran tried to make his attack and felt himself floundering.

'Good job psyduck. Confuse him while his attack is disabled.'

Psyduck quacked and released his connection with Ash. His eyes glowed and nidoran flinched as a blast of energy invaded his mind making his disoriented. He collapsed unable to keep his equilibrium.

'Psyduck Scratch.'

Psyduck clumsily ran up to the nidoran and swiped quickly trying to do as much damage as he could before the disable and confusion state wore off. Finally he felt Ash mentally call him back. Psyduck turned around and obediently ran back to his trainer. Ash sighed at the duck letting his back be exposed to the nidoran but it did not matter.

'Winner, Ash of Pallet Town.'

Ash knelt to his psyduck and praised him. 'Next time just don't turn your back on your opponent when you think he is done. You wouldn't like to get attack after you thought the match was over, right?' Psyduck enthusiastically nodded, understanding the importance of being safer than sorry.

Pikachu ran up to the pair as Ash picked up Psyduck. 'Alright guys let's watch the other match.'

Ash arrived in time to see the match go into the final few minutes. A Fearow and a Vileplume fought carefully around each other but both looked tired. After several clicks Ash put away his pokedex already committing what he read there to memory. Moments later Ash found his second round match would be against a girl named Nora.

Nora was the girl who used a large fearow as her pokemon. Ash thought hard at how to battle a flying pokemon when Psyduck was grounded. He smiled now that he thought of a few ideas. He gave a quick outline of what he wanted to do to Psyduck but found he kept thinking of the image of dewgong being chased by Pikachu's stars. He hoped Psyduck understood. Ash never liked broadcasting his ideas to his opponent. The pair took their positions in the ring.

'Next match is against Nora of Pewter City versus Ash of Pallet Town. Begin!'

Ash smiled to himself as the large fearow cawed. It took to the air from its pokeball. Psyduck simply waddled to his spot and sat down with his hands on his head. He titled his head and looked stupidly at the fearow.

'This will be easy Fearow, fly down and use your wings to knock him out.' Ash gave the girl a frown. It was commands like that which made Ash wonder why anyone thought it was a good idea to give their opponent their battle plan.i

The Fearow flew high into the air and flew quickly at the Psyduck.

'Psyduck show him the world.'

Psyduck did just that. He locked eyes with the flying pokemon and showed him the world he saw. One giant eye that saw the world through linked minds. Fearow felt like it was floating in air and suddenly it felt pain. Fearow flew head first into the ground. Nora called for her pokemon to stand up through the clouds of dirt.

'Good job Psyduck. That confused the hell out of him. Weight him down.'

Pysduck lowered his hands off his head and opened his mouth and sprayed a stream of water. The water soaked the massive bird. Fearow grunted against the pressure and shook its head.

'Come on Fearow, get up and get out of there. Once your in the air you will be safe from his attacks.' Nora cheered her pokemon on.

'Psyduck wag your tail.' Psyduck wagged his tail and started to dance to some tune he heard. The taunt was enough for Fearow to turn back around and swoop down intent on using its claws to take the much smaller pokemon out. Ash smiled as their opponent loomed closer. Ash felt Psyduck see through his eyes. Abruptly Ash shouted 'Now!' Psyduck stopped dancing and sprayed a water gun directly below him taking him air borne. The Fearow for a second time crashed into the ground. The water weight it took on did the job of making the second crash harder than the first.

After judging the damage Ash called out. 'Water gun!' One final hard hit from the spray was enough for the Fearow.

'Fearow is unable to battle Psyduck wins!'

Pikachu and Ash ran up to Psyduck and cheered him. The second match came out just like they planned. 'One more match Psyduck!' Psyduck cheered feeling the Ash's joy and the positive energy from the crowd.

Down the street he could hear another cheer that another match had ended. He had just one more match. Ash went to get a drink and heard his name called up. He handed his canteen to Psyduck who quickly drank a swig and politely handed it back to Ash.

'You see pikachu? Even Psyduck has better manners than you.'

Ash heard Pikachu snarl at him before jumping off his shoulder to glare at his trainer. Ash laughed as he recalled both of his pokemon and started running to the main field.

Last match of the afternoon for his division drew a full size crowd. Ash rotated his shoulders and loosened up. He was unable to see who he would fight and had no idea what kinda of pokemon they would use. He released his pokemon and Pikachu nipped at his ankle in annoyance before cheering Psyduck and running off to the crowd to watch.

Ash laughed at the reaction and turned to his opponent. She was an older teenage girl with brown hair. She had her pokedex open and was scanning his psyduck. She put it away and release her pokemon. The red light disappeared and revealed a pokemon that looked like it was some kind of plant.

Ash looked at his pokedex. 'Exeggutor.' Ash exhaled already knowing Psyduck would be in trouble if he was caught in a plant type attack. This would be a match he would have to fly by the seat of his pants.

'This is a one on one knock out battle. Begin!' Shouted the referee. He backed away as Exeggutor started into charge. His eyes promised Psyduck a barrage of hits with its feet.

Ash raised his hands and Psyduck felt the motion and snapped his mind to match his trainers. With arms raised Psyduck focused on Exeggutor's feet. The Exeggutor fell hard onto the ground. Its legs shook with effort but remained immobile. Ash sighed, glad Psyduck was able to disable the charge.

'Eggs! Stun spore!' shouted the girl.

Ash still felt Psyduck presence in his mind and jumped back. Psyduck used his powers to jump back several meters out of the stun spore cloud. Ash and Psyduck simultaneously clapped their hands together and thrust their hands out back at their opponent. A burst of psychic energy pushed the spore cloud past the other pokemon. Exeggutor shook off the dust from his own stun spore with no problems and slowly got up.

With no word or warning Ash jumped forward and Psyduck got an image of a crazed cat. Psyduck jumped forward and entered the Exeggutor's space and slashed his claws wildly while chanting his name. The larger pokemon grunted in annoyance before stomping the ground hard. Ash jumped back in his competitor's box and Psyduck followed jumping back and allowing his psychic powers to carry him a fair distance away.

'Seed-bomb Eggs!' The exeggutor moved his head in a large swinging motion and several seeds flew out and and latched onto Psyduck. Psyduck paused for a moment before it started quacking in pain. The seeds burst into small plants that latched tightly to psyduck.

Psyduck quickly lost his connection to Ash.

Ash was at a loss of what to do. Psyduck was panicking. Eggs started running up to Psyduck and punted him hard. Psyduck rolled for a moment and laid there. The small plants had flown off. Ash sighed in relief. Psyduck stopped quacking enough to hear him.

*snap*

Ash snapped his fingers and Psyduck stood back up and looked right at the Exeggutor. The girl, what was her name? Ash was not sure, he had not been paying attention. But he knew the girl and her experience were showing when she called for a light screen.

'Confusion Psyduck.' Ash called. It was the first command he gave aloud.

Psyduck focused on entering Eggs' mind. The pokemon already knew what Psyduck was trying to do and the two fought quietly in a mind battle. Ash felt Psyduck let go of their link to focus on the fight. After a minute Ash knew that Psyduck was loosing the battle. The little pokemon was slowly moving its hands to its head. It closed its eyes and scrunched its face in effort.

Ash felt that maybe this was a loss. The cheering of the crowd intensified as Psyduck knelt to the ground.

The crowd?

Ash would swear at his own lack of experience later, but now he closed his eyes and whispered.

'It's loud. Isn't it Psyduck?'

Psyduck opened his eyes and looked blankly at his opponent.

'I am sorry. I truly am. I completely forgot how hard this was for you. But it's o.k. Psyduck. Just like when we started training. Just like before you were even my pokemon. Before you were my partner. Start with lesson one. Pull back from everyone.'

The effects were immediate. Psyduck, who was ready to pass out, looked up. The crowd suddenly stilled as there was a wave of energy and fatigue that hit them.

'And push all that energy at Eggs.'

'PSY!' shouted Psyduck victoriously as it pushed all that wasted energy at Eggs. The Exeggutor was not prepared for the sudden influx of thoughts and energy. Eggs grunted before he fell backwards completely unconscious.

'Exeggutor is unable to battle! Psyduck is the winner of the singles division!'

There was a loud cheer at the proclamation and Ash and Pikachu ran up to his pokemon and lifted him. A twirl later Ash hugged Psyduck. 'That was an amazing job.' Ash held Psyduck at arms length. 'I am sorry Psyduck. I am still learning how to train you. And we know it is not the same way I trained Pikachu. But we will get better. Just you watch.'

Psyduck felt moved and sniffed and hugged his trainer. It gave a 'Psyyaiyai.' in agreement.

-o-

Ash and his team watched the remaining doubles and triples matches for that day. They would unfortunately not be able to stay for the finals that would be stretched out the rest of the week. Ash and Psyduck were presented as the winners for the crowd immediately after the match and the awards ceremony dinner that night. Rather than turn in early as Ash had thought Psyduck would want since he had fought three hard battles that day, the psychic pokemon was caught up in the energy of the crowd and happily dragged Ash and Pikachu around to the stalls that allowed pokemon to play. The team took turns playing booth games with a tiny portion of the prize money. Ash was not concerned with the money. It was the training machine that came with the victory that was important.

The training machine was for a move called amnesia. And it was a guaranteed way for Psyduck to focus on the matches and tune out the crowds. A thought Ash knew would be even more important as more crowds would begin to draw to the matches with higher badge carriers.

Ash had never been to a city that had a gym before he became a trainer. But Ash realized if he had heard there were high badge carriers in town who were going to fight a gym battle he would want to watch. Misty had let him know that it was just his sisters watching the match, but with matches like they had, he could easily draw a crowd. The thought of being watched and followed made him uncomfortable but he shrugged it off.

The concern was with psyduck. His poor pokemon had to constantly keep his mind divided. The trick to see through other peoples eyes helped. It allowed Psyduck to keep is attention on someone else so he could not experience the minds he was feeling when he was on his own. But it was a temporary fix. It was never meant to be a long term solution.

It was then he found this tournament and saw the prize listings. One of the options for the winner was to choose from a list of moves Silph Co. had created. Each one was a one of a kind training machine that were not available to the open market. This small town tournament had helped Ash's plans for Psyduck jump ahead by years of slow training.

-o-

The next morning started early. Ash didn't even wake up his pokemon from their pokeballs at the pokemon center he just strapped them on his belt and started walking. Celedon City was a days travel. He could make good time if he jogged as much as he could. Pikachu was usually up for a long jog but Psyduck was not. Just out side of town Ash started jogging. He was already slipping his mind out while he mindlessly jogged for the next few hours. But he was interrupted before he really started. A car honked and pulled up to him. The driver was the brown haired girl.

'Hey Ash!'

Ash grimaced internally. He still didn't get her name. 'Hey! How is Eggs feeling?'

The girl smiled and patted her belt. 'He made a full recovery shortly after the fight ended. It was just a huge mental shock. But it didn't leave any lasting damage. He was just caught by surprise. Nice job with that psyduck.'

Ash walked up to the car window and nodded. 'Thanks. You guys really had us for a while there.'

The girl chuckled. 'Any way. Are you headed to Celadon City next?'

Ash nodded.

'Well get in! We are going over there now.' The girl opened the passenger door. Ash took off his backpack and got in. He was grateful. He was already behind schedule by months. If he wanted to catch up to the rest of the season trainers he would have to start looking into paid travel.

'Thanks! I honestly didn't think you were old enough to drive.' Ash commented just as the car started to pick up speed. They were just under forty miles away from Celadon City. Ash leaned back comfortably in his seat, the girl just offered to cut off a days length of travel.

'Hee, thanks. I actually work at a perfume store.' She grimaced at the mention of her job.

'You don't like it? I thought you would be an active trainer with how well you trained your pokemon Eggs.'

The girl brightened at the thought. 'Thanks! I try really hard with him. I have had not much luck since he evolved. He used to be a really sweet pair of eggs. But as soon as he evolved he got a little too big for his britches. This was his first tournament since he evolved. It was nice to see that there are bigger badder trainers out there.' She winked at him. Ash grinned back.

'But you don't like your job? I never really thought what I would do when I was done training.'

And he hadn't. It was common for most trainers who didn't make it through their first season to return to their homes and pursue a different career all together. Those who completed multiple seasons went on to explore area's of study regarding pokemon. Those jobs could range from law enforcement to breeding.

'I work with a slave driver of a boss. She wants to constantly create new kinds of perfume. But she is also the leader of the Celadon gym. I train under her gym with my grass pokemon there.'

Ash perked up at that. He had no idea Celadon was a grass gym. 'What's your boss like?'

The girl sighed and sagged into her driver's seat. 'She is a slave driver. And a little of a snob to be honest. She is a great friend. A successful trainer, and very good at her job to make perfume. But she doesn't like criticism. If you find yourself at the gym don't make any comments about any smells you find. Both good and bad. She will kick you out and not welcome you back.'

Ash was silent while thinking about that. 'Can she... Do that? As a gym leader I mean. I thought that all leaders are required to accept every challenge, it was just their prerogative of when.'

The girl shrugged. 'I couldn't tell you really. I was was born and raised in Celadon. When given the choice I followed and joined up to work under Erika's mother as a trainer. When Erika took over, a lot of us were concerned about it. Not because of her age either. She just did not seem to care as much for the gym as she did for her perfume line.'

Ash frowned. He knew Misty had an entertainment business in her gym. But Misty was a committed full time gym leader. He mentioned as much to the girl and she nodded. 'A lot of Gym Leaders do something in their off time. Some have a passion for the gyms but most have it split between their main wants and the gym. Erika...' The girl trailed off trying to be fair to her boss. 'She wants to really devote her time to her business.'

Ash wondered at that. 'Are all gyms a hereditary position?'

The girl shook her head. 'For Erika's gym it is. But usually its not. Really anyone can be a gym leader if they wanted to be, but there is a lot of responsibility that goes with it. Since her gym is supported by the pokemon league, she gets the most clout in town. But all of the equipment she receives is funded by the pokemon league including the equipment for her business. The League seems fine with it. We do get regular inspections around the facilities and there are no problems. Just her attitude to trainers seems to make her less like-able than we wish she was.'

Ash hummed to him self. He felt his pokeballs rock slightly on his belt but he thought of an image of a car to Psyduck who relayed it to pikachu. He got the distinct feeling Pikachu was pouting in his pokeball for not being allowed to come out.

'We'll I'll guess everyone will have to do something they don't like so they can ensure they can continue to do things they want to do.'

The girl laughed. 'That's very mature of you Ash, by the way, my name is Kelly. I figured you didn't know it yet. Am I right?'

Ash took his turn to slink in his chair. 'Yeah. And I was too embarrassed to ask.'

Kelly laughed. 'It's alright. It is actually enough you know Egg's name. It means we left an good impression on you.'

-o-

Kelly had got Ash curious about the gym leader Erika. He thanked the older trainer for the ride and found himself with time he had not anticipated. Pikachu and Psyduck sat on the grass enjoying the shade. Ash planned to train for most of the night when he got to town on foot, but now he found himself this morning in the park in Celadon City talking to other trainers.

'Yeah, I've seen her turn away trainers before. But not out right ban them. I've hear some harsh things about her since I came into town.' One boy said. He seemed more annoyed at the lack of progress he was making attempting to get Erika's badge.

'She refused to fight me until I tried her perfume. It was a joke. I didn't want to tempt fate and say no until after I fought her.' A girl said when he asked around. Her pokemon scrunched their noses remembering the heavy smells in the gym.

'It's not worth it. I just went to Grass-pointe Gym just south of us and fought the leader Koda for my badge.' A taller teen said while waving off Erika's gym.

After several similar conversations, Ash didn't know what to think. Every trainer he spoke to did not have a high opinion of Erika. After he talked to a few of the trainers he made his way to the gym. The gym was an enclosed green house garden. The glass panes that covered the ceiling were completely clear and did little to filter the sunlight. When he went inside there were dozens of free roaming grass pokemon.

There was no receptionist at the podium to welcome him. Ash took the opportunity to pull out his pokedex and scan every pokemon he saw. Each click was companied with a skip command that blipped. He would go over the information tonight. Right now he just wanted to make sure he took a snap shot of the pokemon inside. The high heeled steps from down the hall signaled a woman was approaching the entrance.

'Hello, my name is Ash from Pallet Town. I wanted to schedule a gym battle for tomorrow please.'

The woman had blonde hair and was much older than Kelly. 'Sure Ash. Is this your first challenge?' She had pulled open a ledger and turned it to the past weeks entries.

Ash nodded. It was a strange question to ask and it further sunk the feeling he had about being optimistic about Erika as a gym leader. After a moment he asked,'Do you have a lot of trainers how fail to earn the Celadon Badge?'

The woman hummed not really listening. Ash was further reminded that he did not get this woman's name either. He was beginning to wonder if it was a thing about the girls that worked for Erika.

'Sorry Ash. As for your question, if a trainer is prepared the fights are fairly even. So long as everyone follows the golden rule.'

Ash raised his eyebrow at that. 'The golden rule?'

'Just be respectful.'

Ash looked at the woman dubiously. 'How would a trainer have any problems with that?'

The woman pursed her lips. 'You would be surprised.'

Ash nodded and finished signing his name where she pointed. After a bit of hesitation to just see if he could spy Erika he asked, 'Um. Do you have any recommendations for perfume for a girl who likes to swim? I wanted to send my friend something from every town I visit.'

The receptionist squealed. 'Of course!' She ran around her podium and grabbed his hand and dragged Ash through the field and into another door he did not spy before. The woman let go of his hand as soon as they entered a room full of tiny bottles. The air was very well ventilated, but he could still smell the mixture of lingering scents.

'Let's see. You will want something not too sweet smelling but still clean. Is she a pool swimmer or a nature swimmer?'

'She doesn't get the chance to leave town that often. So it's a pool.'

'Right then.' The receptionist ran through the possibilities through her head. Ash let her mumble to her self while he looked down a single row of perfume with exotic names and colors. The smells were strong in this aisle. He could see himself saying something in passing like a few of the stories he had heard.

'Right then.' The receptionist pulled three two ounce bottles. Ash turned back to her and looked at them all. 'Try this one Ash.'

It smelled like a mixture of fresh water and pine.

'Maybe. What else do you have?' Ash looked at the other two bottles.

The girl smiled add offered him a smell from the stout bottle. Rain water and something else he was not able to recognize. But he liked it. He wanted to keep looking for the Gym leader but it was just him and this receptionist. It was time to go.

'I'll take this one. She will love it.' He picked up the second perfume he smelled and the girl rang him up. While she got his change he continued to look around.

'There are a lot of perfumes here. Are they all made here at the gym?'

'Absolutely. These perfumes are the pride of the Celadon Gym.'

Ash smiled and laughed as he received his bag. 'They are really nice. Although I wouldn't have thought this was a gym from this room. It must have taken a lot of work to set up the shop.'

The woman nodded proudly. 'Erika worked hard to get the gym restructured to allow for it. She will be your opponent tomorrow.'

Ash thanked the woman and made his way to the pokemon center. He had a call to make. He looked at the small bag unsure if Misty would accept a bottle of perfume as a souvenir.

-o-

Ash dropped his pokemon in his room to watch some television before they would be going to sleep in their pokeballs. He clicked on the view screen and pulled open his pokedex.

64789-K.

Ash dialed in the id and leaned back in his chair and sighed. The view screen beeped while sending out the connection. The call went for nearly a minute before an answer picked up.

Misty was drying her hair and her head was covered in a towel as she began absently. 'This is Misty of Cerulean Gym. How can I help you?'

'Hi Misty, Starmie hose you again?' Ash teased. Misty had let it slip that Starmie liked to surprise Misty some times with a water gun to the face when she was dry. Ash almost hopped that was the case this time.

Misty pulled of the towel allowing her hair to fly every where. 'Ash!' she exclaimed. Misty threw the towel and sat down. 'How's my favorite trainer doing?'

Ash leaned forward and smiled. 'I am doing good. I made it to Celadon City.' Misty flinched when she heard that. Ash was kind of down hearted that apparently it was known what Erika was doing.

'Have you had any problems with meeting Erika?' Misty asked cautiously.

'None so far, I haven't met her yet. But I actually got plenty of warnings from the trainers. But that was only by luck to even be aware to ask. If I had come here on foot I would have marched up to the gym and very likely said something about the sharp and overly sweet smells that made my eyes water.'

Misty frowned at the gym's description. 'That bad huh? I never made it there my self, but Lily and Daisy made it out there before. They liked the perfume shop, but they are not gym leaders, they would have no idea how the gym side was being handled by observing. Their idea of earning gym battles was showing up and just being given them.' Ash scowled at that idea. Misty smiled at him. 'I know, hardly encouraging is it?'

Ash sighed. He knew that being angry would do no one any good and let the anger go. He moved on to the rest of his story.

'I actually got a ride out here today and talked to someone who works for her. After piquing my curiosity, I asked around. The consensus from other trainers and even people I talked to who work under Erika, is she not adverse to denying gym challenges. Finally I wanted to try and speak to her myself. But with no appearance from Erika, I wanted to at least see both sides of the gym. So I did do some perfume shopping to see if she was even in. '

Misty laughed. She put her hands under her chin and batted her eyes and teased out, 'Find anything for me?'

Ash smiled at her but ignored the question. He planned to mail the perfume to her as a surprise. At least she did not sound adverse to getting perfume as a gift. 'Is it legal what she is doing? Just turning away and out right refusing challengers?'

Misty sighed and leaned back. Serious talk then. 'It's not illegal. She has the right to deny a challenge at the moment it is declared. A trainer can be turned away from the gym with no reason given whats so ever. It's actually in place to protect both trainers and gym leaders. But a gym leader has to accept the second challenge.'

Ash thought about some of the stories he heard that morning from trainers. Finally he said, 'But she isn't the one that is turning away challengers. It's her employees.'

'Exactly. We have had complaints leveled against her. But we do not have proof. The kids who try to attempt her gym either win and move on, or are denied and do not know the rules enough to file complaints. It does not help that Erika ignores half of the work you do as a gym leader. She is so disinterested in her post that there has been a movement to have her removed. The problem then comes into her position in town. The Celadon Gym has been a hereditary position for over four generations. It doesn't help no one wants the position. Celadon City is smack dab in the middle of the Kanto government. Any gym leader who takes up that position will have to work directly under Kanto and the Pokemon League.'

Ash scratched his head. 'Right then.' He sighed and leaned back in his chair. It squeaked in protest.

'Ash, we have not been friends for very long but I think I know you well enough to understand this really bothers you. I think you were fortunate that you fought me and Brock first. Not all gym leaders are going to be devoted to their art. And you already saw that while Brock and I are devoted gym leaders we both have our own passions. Brock wants to raise pokemon, he even shared with me he was thinking of becoming a doctor later down the road. I want to travel the world. My sisters who are my stand-in perform in Cerulean. It's not a bad thing that we want to do other things. But we know why being a gym leader is so important.'

Ash stayed silent.

'Ash, if there is one thing you can do, I hope you can teach her that. Like how you showed me and Brock in our fights that an advantage does not mean a thing in a fight. Show her something. I don't know what. But she needs to learn why gym leaders are so important.'

Misty and Ash looked at each other. 'Thanks Misty. I'll do my best. I'll give you a call tomorrow and let you know how it goes.'

'Please do Ash. I love our talks. Good night.'

'Good night.' Ash turned off the viewer and left the room. Absently he turned off the lights as he left. His mind full of concerns. None of there were about the actual gym battle.

-o-

Ash walked up the street and entered the gym. He was welcomed by the receptionist he saw yesterday. Ash was shown to the gym floor and stood in the challenger's box. He released Pikachu and knelt down to him.

'I'm sorry Pikachu. I wanted this to be another lesson. Fighting against a few highly trained grass pokemon would be amazing to try a few of Psyducks techniques out. But Misty suggested we need to help teach Erika something. But I don't know how to teach Erika what she is doing is wrong. How can she not understand what she is doing is bad?' Ash took off his pokemon league hat. His black hair was scruffier than usual. It had grown in the few months they had traveled together.

'So we are going to do this a little differently from the last gym. Psyduck was supposed to fight these guys to get used to the type disadvantage. But we are just here to win. Let's win with over whelming ability. We need to show her that pride is a dangerous thing. Then we can finally leave this weird town behind. We can leave as soon as we are done for all I care. I don't want to think about Erika.' Ash felt his lip curl into an unfamiliar and an uncomfortable scowl.

Pikachu nodded and leaned forward on all four paws. Ash stood back up just as the doors opened. Erika had sleek black hair bound by a hair band. She wore old fashioned robes and had an ivysaur walk with her. 'Good afternoon Trainer Ash Ketchum.'

'It's a pleasure to meet you Erika.' Ash said tightly. He reigned in his thoughts but could not keep the stiff tone out of his voice.

'The pleasure is mine Ash.'

'Erika?'

Erika looked over to the challenger. Ash looked at her calmly. 'Do you like your work?'

Erika smiled indulgently. 'I love it. I can follow my own path and I only need to to fulfill my duty to reach keep doing what I love to do.' Ash felt that her explanation was very vague and not too far in what he had been told by Misty.

Ash thought about his pokemon. 'Do you train your pokemon often? I was curious since the pokemon I saw yesterday did not seem to be a group of fighters.'

Erika frowned but agreed with him. 'Most of the ones in the lobby enjoy the green house but were never trained to be strong fighters. Most of my favorites have spent most of their time there enjoying the sun to helping develop our scents for our perfume.'

Ash narrowed his eyes. 'How many pokemon do you have here? I remember seeing quite a few yesterday.'

Erika allowed the diversion and laughed. 'We have over fifty plant pokemon to help diversify our scents. Most of them are in various stages of bloom to help out the research.'

Ash frowned. He was finally beginning to understand the scope of her work and how it impacted her gym. 'Do all of your pokemon work as part of your perfume research? I only ever trained mine to battle.' Ash just barely added that last part. He was not really interested in what she had to say. Ash really only wanted to understand what she was doing.

'I only have a few trained pokemon passed down from the family. Most of the pokemon here are ones I captured and trained to work with our store.'

Ash repressed another scowl and asked in an even tone, 'Does the gym suffer for it?'

Erika shrugged. She was unconcerned and unimpressed with the idea of the gym. 'Who knows, I changed the gym as soon as I took over. I never even stepped in it before I inherited it. Let us begin Ash, if you are curious about my business practices I would be happy to talk to you about it after the match.'

A shout from an impatient trainer dropped from the audience level. 'I can't take it anymore! If you are not going to fight her then I will! Erika I challenge you to a gym battle.' The boy stood and pointed at Erika from the stands. A vulpix ran yipped with him in agreement. Several people ran after him to stop is disruption.

Erika looked away from Ash.

'You should not be trespassing on league property. Have him removed.' Erika said to the staff. 'And boy please don't come back, you are not welcomed here.' Two women grabbed the boy and dragged him out as his vulpix followed behind still trying to vouch for his trainer.

Ash closed his eyes. He gripped his hands before asking, 'May I ask, why was he banned from the gym grounds for? Wouldn't that block his chance to advance his career in pokemon training?'

Erika smiled to him self-assured in her answer. 'He had attempted my gym once before and failed. He then violated the only rule I have in my gym.' Ash said it at the same time she said it. 'To be respectful.'

'What did he do?' Ash felt noxious as the reason did not matter if the boy had not been arrested.

Erika smiled and shook her head thinking that Ash was just another little boy. 'He disrespected the life's work that I do in this gym.'

'Your perfume.' Ash needlessly added. Any remaining good will he had to this gym leader finally wilted.

Erika nodded, happy he understood the rules. No one insults her work. She cheerfully added, 'Now that unpleasant business is over with let us start the match. I spoke to the other gym leaders who you fought this morning. They have high hopes for you. Since this is your third gym, this will be a three on three battle. Please choose your pokemon.'

Pikachu moved forward, a steely glare on his face.

'I will choose oddish, go!'

A small blue plant with legs announced its presence with an 'odd'.

Ash put his hat back on and resisted the urge to take out his pokedex. 'Pikachu lets get this over with. Quick attack.'

Erika frowned at the arrogance. 'Oddish, Sleep spore.'

Oddish began to shake its head to release the spores but was cut off be Pikachu's attack. First by the quick attack that made it fall over, then by the second hit of a tackle that followed it. Pikachu jumped back and waited to see if Oddish would stand. It did not.

Erika frowned again. 'It's alright oddish. That was my fault for not being quick enough. Rest for now.'

Erika pulled out a second pokeball. This one was from the balls for pokemon reserved for high badge count users. She was warned that if she chose pokemon that were appropriate to the badge count she would loose quickly. 'Go, Tangrowth.' a mass of vines with feet appeared and gurgled out cheerfully. It looked at Pikachu with amused eyes. Pikachu simply leaned low to the ground with teeth bared.

Ash had raised his hand into the air.

'I am very disappointed right now Erika.'

Erika looked up at him curiously. Ash moved his hand down in a slashing motion. Pikachu complied with a crack of lightening that shot from the ceiling. The energy nailed Tangrowth several times in under three seconds. The pokemon fell to the ground unmoving.

Erika's surprise made her look at Ash only to take a step back when she found him glaring at her. Under gritted teeth he said. 'Your last pokemon please.'

'Ivysaur your up. Treat it like a ten badge battle.' Her grass pokemon replied with a 'saur'.

Pikachu charged up unbound electricity that snapped in his ears. This was not something trained by Ash. Pikachu allowed himself to charge up freely. It was an act he had not done since Pewter City. Pikachu released a feral growl. His fur puffed aggressively in his own threat display.

Ash did not even acknowledge the now intimidated Ivysaur as an opponent as it slowly began to take a step back.

Erika looked at Ash through the waves of crackling electricity in the middle of the field. 'What is wrong Ash? Do you find my challenge not up to your expectations? That does not sound very appreciative that I came out here to spend time with you. I thought we understood eachother well enough to be respectful.'

'Erika you can call yourself a gym leader. But you have no idea what that really means. Pikachu thunder the ground.' Pikachu complied and bolts of lightening hammered against the ground. Sparks of electricity covered the field, super heating the ground and immediately burning the grass. Waves of heat began to distort the field.

'Of course I know what it means!' Erika protested. She felt herself get angry at the accusation. 'Just because you beat two of my pokemon easily does not mean you can be high and mighty with me trainer! Ivysaur vine whip.'

The glaring Pikachu blurred as the vines hit him. A second later that image of Pikachu disappeared.

'Again you are just proving you are not seeing the field the same way I am Erika.' Ash said angrily. Pikachu ended his double team revealing bits of lightening that had cracked the floor around the field. 'How many people did you deny the chance to become better trainers against your wounded pride?'

'Ivysuar, leechseed.'

Pikachu threw several bolts of lightening and the seeds were destroyed in mid-air. 'One dimensional Erika. You are proud of your little passion project. But you are the Celadon gym leader first. Where is your pride as a Gym leader? Where the HELL is your pride now?' Ash yelled at her. 'Thunder at Ivysaur's feet Pikachu. Make it numb.'

Pikachu complied. The attack struck the ground and spread the energy between the earth and into the Ivysaur's legs. Ivysaur collapsed.

'Ivysaur solar beam!' Erika called out desperately.

'Erika if you can't muster the will to be a gym leader, then you don't deserve a gym!'

Ivysaur launched his solar beam right at Pikachu who glared at it before it hit. Erika braced for the explosion that would come with it but instead, a sizzling zipping sound rattled the room. The smoke cleared and Pikachu stood his ground, tail raised high in the air. Ash ignored his own surprise when Pikachu gave a roar that began to become distorted by the electricity that ran inside him. Tufts of fur spiked turned into spines from the energy Pikachu held in his small body.

Pikachu released another electric distorted roar as the solar energy was converted to lightening. 'Black out.' Ash said before he closed his eyes.

The electric energy Pikachu released flashed the room before the power in the ceiling went out and the overhead glass panes shattered from the energy. Ivysaur was hit with the explosion of electricity and slumped to the ground unconscious. Ash glared at Erika while she tried to blink away the light. She was temporarily blinded but she could hear the glass as it fell from the ceiling.

'Erika you are a disgrace.'

Erika snarled and blinked until she could finally see her gym. The ground was scorched from the electric blasts and there was no longer a ceiling. The lights were nothing but pieces of pipe and wire. All the glass that had fallen on the field did nothing to cover the scorched earth. She looked angrily back to Ash.

'All of us. Every trainer is preparing for the day we may have to put our lives on the line. It doesn't matter if its for a natural disaster or war. But we need to trust our Gym leaders to lead us. I do not even have words to describe you right now.' Ash suppressed the shake in his voice and body. 'Return Pikachu.'

Pikachu glared at the gym leader before he turned into red light. Ash pivoted on one foot to leave.

Erika glared at Ash's retreating back. 'Didn't you come for a badge?' She called after him. Erika knew she had been beaten and she had to follow the rules.

Ash put all of his feelings into the single look. Erika, for the first time, looked like she felt guilty. 'I'm not going to accept your badge. It would mean I would have to recognize you as something you are not. You are not a _Leader_. I could never follow you Erika.' Ash walked away.

Erika looked at his retreating back. A foreign feeling pooled in her stomach. She did not know why she felt foolish. But she knew she had erred in some way.

Ash did not realize how large his audience was until he was out of the arena. Apparently the viewing section for gym battles in this gym was massive to hold that many people. Ash looked up the stairs and saw they led to a second floor that was likely raised above the arena. Ash hopped the glass didn't land on any spectators... He did not think that through.

There was a crowd of people who parted for him as he left. Outside he saw that he had effectively knocked out power to the area. Ash acknowledged he lost his temper and started walking away. He caught a glance of what he thought was Kelly but he quickly looked away feeling incredibly guilty all the sudden. Already he felt dread for his next conversation. He needed to report he was the one that blew up a gym and blew out the power to a few blocks of the city.

-o-

Ash had an odd conversation with the Officer Jenny of Celadon City. Ash had seen other Jenny's before and he knew that there was one in every city. But the fact they were exactly identical...

The Jenny said shortly after he explained himself that he was not the first one in the city to have a gym battle get out of hand. The complete blasé tone Officer Jenny made that observation threw Ash off so much he stood there dumbly listening to her reminisce about her old trainer days for half the day before he found himself taking a seat to just listen to her talk about how Jenny challenged the previous gym leader before Erika. Ash finally decided to go back to the center as Officer Jenny apologized for taking up his time while pointedly ignoring he was the one who came in to report an incident.

When he entered the Pokemon Center he spotted Erika as she stood up to greet him. He restrained the flare of indignation she represented and swallowed a heavy lump in his throat as she walked up to him.

'Hello Erika.' He greeted through a clenched jaw.

Erika looked back at him and just studied his face. She still smelled slightly of ozone. It made Ash wonder how quickly she came to the Center in hopes of talking to him. She interupted his thoughts with a hesitated inhale, 'You were right.'

Ash looked at her unsure what she meant but was willing to listen. 'About?'

'About me. I did not know what being a gym leader really meant. It has always been an abstract thing. A chore. I had been prepared to be a gym leader all my life but I never considered what it really meant to be that person. I still don't think I do. But you did remind me there are things I did ignore. That I can no longer ignore. And that is my behavior. I've had people tell me that before of course. But I don't think I really wanted to believe it. My family have been the stewards of Celadon but I think we had all forgotten what that meant. So thank you.' Erika bowed low to him.

Ash sighed. 'Will you allow that trainer and others to try again?'

'Yes. You are right, it's not just my pride at stake. It is lives. I have a lot to answer for.'

'That's all I wanted. Thank you. But I don't think I can ever fully trust in the gym leaders. Not after seeing how you were today.'

Erika looked saddened at the news. But she understood. 'Maybe someone can restore that faith Ash. I am sorry I failed you so completely. While you did not accept my badge. I have placed your name as completing the Celadon ten badge challenge.'

Ash looked at her and felt his disappointment envelop him. He simply nodded at the gesture before realizing he had nothing else to say to her. Finally he turned and walked to the pokemon center counter to deposit his pokemon.

'Even in your anger!' Erika called to him. Ash stopped and turned his head back to her. 'Even in your anger, you never once took it out on my pokemon. With how much damage your Pikachu did, they were not badly injured. They were just stunned. You showed more restraint than I could have mustered. My pokemon and I thank you for that bit of leniency.' Erika bowed one more time.

Ash woodenly walked to the communications room. He felt Erika follow him with her eyes until he was walking down the hall. The light in the communication room buzzed as he took a seat.

Ash leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes with a sigh. Finally he sat up and stared at the screen. He felt completely drained. He looked at Misty's number and a smile came to him. Even when feeling completely disappointed in Erika and the idea of gym leaders as a whole, he still felt he had a lot of faith in Misty. He dialed in her number and no less than ten seconds passed before Misty looked at him eagerly waiting for him to call.

Ash tried three times to talk. Finally he just laughed. He released all his pent up energy out in that laugh so much so it felt like a sob in his chest. He looked at Misty, just happy he was talking to someone he actually cared about. 'Sorry Misty, I messed up and got angry.'

A/n: Wow thank you all for the reviews! Just finally finished editing this chapter. I actually had a lot of it in a very different order.

And I am just posting this as I finished the majority of what will be chapter 7 and first half of chapter 8. I'm giggling madly cause those two chapters pretty much came out of left field. Next chapter should be up before the end of next week. I am releasing these as I finish a good half chapter of what ever chapter I am working on. So the release schedule is all over the place. I am sure that updates will slow down probably around chapter 10ish as I think I would have caught up with releases by then.

A/N2: Updated a few spots and cleaned up some of the more wooden narrative. I also adjusted the ending a little. The origional Jenny scene came off in a meaning that was not intended when I first wrote it. Thank you reviewers! All the feedback helps. Still no computer :( and typing on a phone sucks. 9/5/16


	4. Chapter 4 Friends

Chapter 4

Ash woke up the next morning to a bright sky. He made an irritated grunt when he realized he had slept in. Yesterday had drained him and Ash had to force the energy into him to get up. It was time to think of the next gym battle.

Ash washed up then went to the main counter to pick up his pokemon. When he clipped them on his belt he noticed that there were no movement from the balls. Pikachu and Psyduck were oddly quiet this morning. Not thinking much about it Ash checked his gear before he strapped on his back pack. He had restocked his supplies. After one more sigh he felt he was ready for another long road trip. In the bag he spotted the medal from the tournament and began to think about Kelly. He honestly felt bad about the gym. Ash also felt he needed to apologize to her. Ash shook his head of those thoughts. He was just as eager to leave Celadon behind. Finally his disappointment of the whole experience won out.

Ash just wanted to leave.

Ash stopped himself as he was about to say goodbye to Nurse Joy. 'Nurse Joy, can you send a letter to the Celadon Gym for me?'

Nurse Joy looked up in surprise. She had heard him argue with the gym leader the night before but nodded. 'It's not for Erika.' Ash corrected. 'It's for one of her employees. A girl named Kelly.'

'Of course Ash. I'll be discrete with it.' Ash thanked her and started writing his apology to Kelly. He included his pokemon ID if she ever wanted to stay in touch. Or to give him a piece of her mind.

Feeling a lot better about the whole debacle, Ash started making his way to the bus stop. He had debated over if he was going to travel on foot. Ash made his decision as soon as he wrote his letter to Kelly. He would take the bus and shave as much time off the trip as he could.

'On to the next gym. I promised Psyduck a gym battle and he is getting one.'

At the bus station he was not sure where he was going to go next. But one thing was clear after talking to a few of the other trainers. He needed another pokemon. Each gym battle increased the number of pokemon. One trainer said that it doesn't matter what gym you choose for your final two, they each require a trainer to have at least four pokemon to challenge the gym.

Ash either had the option to backtrack to Viridian City which was the hardest gym in the region, or Saffron. Either way meant he would be traveling farther than he wanted. He should have just stuck to going south from Cerulean like he had planned. But that tournament was such a good idea for Psyduck.

'Looks like Saffron it is.'

Ash bought his ticket and looked at his nearly empty wallet. His tournament winnings and most of his traveling money was gone from that ticket purchase. Ash sighed as he knew he would have to look into fighting battles when he got to Saffron City. Ash boarded the bus and as it drove off he grinned to himself. The bus would effectively cut off three days off his trip if he really pushed himself from sun up to sun down. If he had wanted to stop to train and fight other trainers, it was closer to a few weeks.

The bus took a two hour stop at a small village where a few people got off. Ash simply allowed his pokemon to wander about with him at the park until it was time to leave again. Night was setting when a sleepy Ash entered the pokemon center and checked in. Maybe the bus wasn't the best idea he had. Being confined in a small moving box made him slightly noxious and exhausted.

-o-

'Sorry Pikachu. If what that kid said in Celadon was true, it will be a psychic versus psychic fight. You can watch if you want to, or you can stay in your pokeball to wait till its over.'

Pikachu shuddered at the idea of two psyducks. The mouse happily went into his pokeball not interested in having his mind invaded unless absolutely necessary. Ash gave an exasperated sigh at Pikachu. Ash will admit to anyone that it was his fault Pikachu hated being near psychic pokemon. He had used Psyduck's link with Pikachu a little too liberally. Pikachu understood why he had to do it. But that did not discount the fact Pikachu hated it almost as much as he hated the time he first learned swift.

Ash got ready with both Pikachu and Psyduck on his belt. He left his bag in his room and made his way into the city. It was mid day when he left the pokemon center. He had planned to start looking for another partner soon, but he wanted to challenge the Gym first.

Misty asked for a favor in Celadon which he was happy to do. She even found what she was looking for when he was pressed to explain his apology to her for loosing his temper. But it cost Psyduck his debut in a gym fight. He didn't just have Psyduck go through all that training for nothing. Even without learning amnesia, he was ready for a gym.

Just that morning Psyduck had tried to use amnesia for the first time. Ash already knew it would be possibly weeks before Psyduck would be ready with that move. Psyduck looked pleased with himself for seeing the move.

Ash did not really know what to expect when he found himself at the doors to the gym. He pushed them open and he felt himself enveloped in a bubble of energy. Ash looked at his pokeballs but knew he would not be able to feel his pokemon's energy from their balls. Ash cautiously announced himself.

'Hello my name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. I've come to challenge the gym leader.'

The young woman at the desk smiled slightly before tilting her head. A moment later the doors to the main gym opened, allowing Ash to pass. Ash was surprised no one was on the other side to greet him. He turned to see the woman at the desk was with a man now and they both closed the door behind him. Both spared him a patient smiled as the doors closed. The gym fighting arena was a solid concrete ring with no obstacles. It has a dirt floor and the gym had solid walls of concrete that had signs of being cleaned many times from pokemon battles. Ash looked up. Sure enough, he saw the viewing area that he started realizing was in every gym he had been to.

'Good Afternoon Ash. My name is Sabrina the Saffron gym leader.' A tall woman with shiny black hair caught his attention and he turned to see her walk down a case of stairs towards the gym floor. Her eyes were unfocused and a single pokeball was in her hand as it expanded in preparation to be released. But it was the eyes that caught his attention. Ash knew that look.

'Pardon me Sabrina, are you psychic?'

The woman smiled. 'Yes I am. How did you know?'

Ash smiled and thought of his Psyduck. 'Psyduck has the same face. And I can feel the energy here. It's very calming.' Ash added after a moment.

'I thank you. Really, I have to thank you for more than the compliment. Celadon was a tragedy. But I suppose you don't want to hear about that do you?'

Ash found himself softening his glare at the mention of Celadon. 'I am sorry Sabrina. I did not mean to be angry with you. It was unfair of me.' Ash was already thinking of speaking to her the way he spoke with Psyduck. The small pokemon would pick up on his emotions. Any emotion could trigger a fit with Psyduck. It took Ash the better part of three days to convince the little guy that any feelings he had were not always directed at him even if Ash was talking to him while feeling those emotions.

Ash smiled slightly at the idea of comparing this woman to Psyduck. Apparently the likeness was more than superficial. She laughed. Ash was sure it was from the image he had in his head. 'Sabrina would you be so kind as to pull away from my mind?'

Sabrina had the grace to look embarrassed. 'I am sorry Trainer Ash, it simply happens and I don't mean to pry. Well then, I suppose we should begin our match. While you will not need to worry about having a pokemon minimum with you in this battle I suggest you start looking.' Sabrina palmed the pokeball that had been sitting in her hand. It rocked in anticipation on its own. The Pokemon was all ready for a fight.

'This will be a two on two battle with the trainer allowed to substitute during battle twice for the entire trial. Prepare yourself Kadabra.'

Ash tossed his pokeball and Psyduck appeared out of the red beam. His hands were to his sides and he looked forward at the other pokemon. He quacked happily at seeing the other psychic pokemon. Psyduck turned back to his trainer and shook his head at Ash before looking back at the opponent.

Ash smiled in approval. 'I gotcha Psyduck. No link today.' Ash had his pokedex in hand and had scanned the Kadabra. 'I am ready Sabrina.'

Sabrina looked interested in the display. 'Kadabra Psychic.'

The kadabra started focusing his energy and gripped Psyduck with it. Psyduck was lifted into the air in a vice grip.

Ash exhaled. 'Step one.'

Psyduck immediately exhaled and focused his energy pulling it back to him. The room's latent energy wavered for a moment and Psyuck enveloped himself and let himself down. He felt the presence of the kadabra's energy and pushed it back. Kadabra released his energy before he felt the backlash.

'Psyduck swipe it. It's body is frail.' Psyduck levitated himself and flew to the kadarba and swiped feathered claws at the kadabra. Unlike Eggs, Kadabra immediately felt the effects.

'Reflect kadabra.' Kadabra started his barrier. But it was immediately stopped at the same time Ash called to his pokemon.

'Disable. Fury swipes.' Psyduck continued his assault.

Psyduck as a pokemon species have a naturally low fighting ability. Their physical strength was low. They could not fly like other bird pokemon so while a psyduck weighs little, they could not take advantage of any potential edge their physical body may have had. Psyduck's mental powers were also limited. The feedback the species would get, in the form of their headaches, made them hard to train and harder to evolve if a trainer did obtain the pokemon.

Psyduck was not a strong pokemon. But he did not need to be. Ash found a style that would work for him. Something he knew would only work for Psyduck. Ash waited for Psyduck to make one more swipe.

'Confusion.' Psyduck forced its way into Kadabra's mind. Sabrina's pokemon resisted and started to relax his body now that the fight was in his territory. Only to feel his body crumble from an outside source. Kadabra could not break free of the battle of wills and did not know what was happening on the outside world. Finally he felt himself weakening and the world went dark.

Ash sighed in relief. Psyduck did it.

'Kadabra is unable to battle. Psyduck is the winner.' Sabrina called while she returned her pokemon. She looked at her pokeball and wondered about that fight. Kadabra was no slouch in a mind battle. So how was Psyduck able to break free of it and deal the physical finishing blow while Kadabra was still fighting a mental battle.

Ash laughed. He did not need psychic powers to know what she was thinking. 'After this match I would love to talk to you about it.'

Sabrina looked up and grinned as well. It looks like she would get to learn something from this fight as well. Ash had earned his badge in her eyes. 'Go, Alakazam.'

Ash scanned it. 'Psyduck back up.' Psyduck levitated itself back to its starting position. 'Psyduck test it with confusion.'

Alakazam took the hit and pushed back with his own mental powers. Psyduck quacked out a negative while releasing his attack. Ash starting thinking of different ways to fight this pokemon. Entering his mind will not work.

'Alakazam Psybeam.' Alakazam flashed his eyes and Psyduck was hit with a wave of mental energy. Psyduck gripped his head and began to panic. Ash focused on Psyduck and thought to the little pokemon.

I am here. It's ok. Psyduck quacked and his panic slowed. Psyduck still gripped his head. The headache was greater than he ever felt. Ash felt Psyduck's distress. Think about your exercise with amnesia this morning. Aloud Ash said, 'And start with lesson four.'

Psyduck gripped his head and quacked before levitating himself. The practice exercise with amnesia asked for the pokemon to leave behind everything and forget. The pokemon has to loose themselves while having an anchor in the real world.

In lesson four, Ash trained Psyduck to leave his body behind. So long as both the mind and body were separate, they could act as normal. The body did not know it was in pain, and the mind could not feel the pain. The monotonous training took over.

Psyduck stood back up and relaxed his arms. He quacked and a wave of psychic energy pushed at Alakazam mind. The Alakazam closed his eyes and concentrated at resisting the push. It was moments too late for Alakazam to realize the attack came on two fronts.

'Bubble Beam.' Psyduck obediently opened his mouth and a stream of rapidly producing bubbles flew at his target.

Alakazam felt his body being pushed back. Just as soon as it felt the scope of both attacks, Alakazam lost his footing and flew out of the ring then being nailed to the wall from both attacks. Cracks fanned out from him and Sabrina recalled her pokemon.

'Winner Ash Ketchum from Pallet town.' Ash blinked. He was surprised how fast Sabrina recalled her pokemon. He wasn't even sure her pokemon was knocked out.

Did she just... concede?

Ash looked over to Psyduck who was just as surprised but Ash cheered for his pokemon. 'Great job Psyduck! Do you think you got a better idea about amnesia now?' There was a brush of a mental yes. Ash laughed and hugged his pokemon.

Sabrina watched the interaction and started walking to him. Those were her strongest pokemon. According to Misty, Ash had only been a trainer for just over three months. And he only had received the Psyduck maybe a month ago. She looked at the psyduck and the trainer. Their trust in each other is amazing. She grew up with Alakazam but she was not sure if she could surrender her mind to it the way Ash does to his psyduck.

'You are not psychic at all are you Ash?'

Ash looked up and saw her next to him. He reddened in embarrassment. 'No I'm not. But psyduck just lets his mind wander around so much I just send him messages and he reaches out to me.'

Sabrina smiled. She could not tell him how dangerous that is. She would never want to make them doubt the trust the two have built. 'Here is your Marsh Badge.' After a bit of hesitation she asked. 'I did want to talk to you about what you did out there.' She allowed her self a brief appreciation of how hard the attack hit. The damage would be superficial but it was rare for her gym to take damage like other gyms. Her battles were either brief mental battles like this one, or protracted energy battles. Rarely has there been a pokemon that would arrive that would attack physically. It was normally suicide.

Ash shared his badge with Psyduck who began to play with it. Ash looked back to the woman. 'Psyduck has had a long history of not being able to control his power. After experimenting with things he could do. We stumbled over how well he could do multiple things at the same time. You saw it when he was instructed to pull in his mind.'

Sabrina suddenly understood what he was talking about. 'The sucking motion. I was not even aware he had his mind spread out until he pulled it back in. It was incredibly subtle.'

Ash smiled. 'It took us a few weeks before we were able to have him link our minds. He was able to share his emotions naturally. But it took a fair bit of control before he could read mine. The easiest way to convey something to him is to think images or memories. He is quick enough to get the general idea.'

Ash looked down at Psyduck who began to zone out and stare at the badge. Ash snapped his fingers. Psyduck immediately refocused and looked up at his trainer awaiting instructions.

'You did good job Psyduck. It was an awesome debut gym battle. Return.'

Ash recalled his pokemon and allowed him to rest in his pokeball where he would not have to attempt to reign in his powers.

'The attacks you used to end both fights. They had two parts to each attack.' Sabrina said still analyzing in her head.

'Yeah. Psyduck isn't physically strong. While my psyduck is pretty powerful with his mental powers, he has a long way before he could actually control them. But he can do both at the same time.'

'And you had the tactical knowledge of when to use those attacks for the best possible outcome.' Sabrina smiled satisfied. She looked at the young man and remembered he had some questions as well. 'Come with me Ash. You said you had a few questions about psychic pokemon as well. I will be happy to help you with what ever you ask.'

Ash smiled brightly at the prospect. After his last gym battle this was what he was hoping for. A chance to learn more. Ash walked after the woman. Behind Sabrina she could hear Ash fumble with his pokedex trying to find all the notes he had written about psychic pokemon.

Three hours later Sabrina and Ash were interrupted by a door knock. 'Come in Shiko. I have another challenger?'

'Yes ma'am. It is a three badge challenger.'

'That is good then I would not be able to handle a ten badge challenger for a good week after Ash's battle.' Sabrina stood up and looked over to Ash.

Ash perked up at that fact. Sabrina grimaced as if she broke a rule. 'Not so much a rule Ash. Just a few things that work behind the curtains. Some times trainers are so talented that we have to treat every encounter with them as it is a trainer with the experience, and pokemon strong enough to fight the gyms strongest pokemon. You are one such trainer Ash. With so few badges you own Ash, I would have sent four pokemon at you and given you the experience of the average challenger with a medium bit of difficulty. And I would have lost just as quickly.'

Sabrina looked at him and his pokemon league hat. It suddenly felt appropriate that he wore that. 'Ash I am not going to lie. Your gym battles are very different from every other trainer.'

Ash nodded while thinking back to his gym battles. Every gym fight had been hard fought and easily out stripped any fights he fought for money. With the exception of Erika whom he did not believe was an experienced pokemon trainer. The only other exception was the tournament with Psyduck but that was with Psyduck testing his new abilities in a real fight.

'Ash do not let it bother you. You have a long road ahead of you. And you have much you will do before you will enter a regional conference.' Ash looked up at that. Sabrina was again adopting that look his psyduck took when sensing something.

Sabrina smiled. 'May I make a suggestion to you Ash?'

Ash nodded knowing this was a suggestion from her powers more so than her self. 'Go visit the Pokemon Tower Ash. If you can appreciate the calming effects of the gym, then the Pokemon Tower will surely help settle your thoughts. That place holds a lot of memories that should be shared with others. Besides, you look like you need more friends. I am sure you will find a few there.'

Sabrina started walking out the door. She did have a gym battle to perform. 'You should always remember the friends you do have Ash. They will always have your best interests at heart. Even the ones who you think may not be trust worthy.' Sabrina looked at him in the eye. The glossy look in her eyes were gone. Ash immediately thought of Misty. Sabrina looked satisfied at where his thoughts went. She then turned and left him alone in the room. Ash sat there for a few moments finishing his tea. Sabrina said a lot. All of it was meaningful.

'I should trust my friends right?' Ash smiled thinking about what Sabrina said. It was as much of an olive branch as he felt she could say with out over stepping Gym leader bounds. 'Well if a friend suggests it, I don't mind going to Lavender Town.'

-o-

Ash woke the next morning groggy. He had actually forgotten he did not give Nurse Joy his pokemon until the two started arguing over the remote control for the room's television. Psyduck refused to let Pikachu to even touch the remote. The two looked like they had escalated the argument to the point where Psyduck kept it in his mouth.

Ash turned is head, still reluctant to leave bed yet. He quickly fell back asleep. When he woke again only thirty minutes passed. The two members of his team had worked out a deal where neither would touch the remote. Pikachu used his electricity to play with the screen and Psyduck used his mental powers to play with the antennae to get the desired lines to play across the screen.

Ash smiled at the pair, silently wishing he had a camera.

'That's enough you two.' Ash called good naturedly. Talking to Sabrina really did make him feel better about the gym leaders and his own pokemon. Ash got out of bed and fed them the remaining rations he had saved for his original trip to Celadon. Ash shook his head at the idea of Erika.

'When I'm back from my shower I want you both ready to work. Sabrina suggested we go visit Lavender Town to pay respects to the deceased pokemon. Its a two day hike and we need money. So we are going to take our time to look for battles.' The two pokemon cheered.

Just as he was about to leave Nurse Joy waved him back. 'Sorry Mr. Ketchum, I almost missed you. Gym Leader Sabrina wanted you to have this. But she gave strict instructions for you to not open the box until after you leave the Pokemon Tower.'

As received a small brown box that was wrapped in packaging paper. He shook it slightly and something rolled around in the box. He looked up to Nurse Joy. 'Can you let her know I am thankful for the gift?'

Nurse joy smiled and agreed happily.

Ash thought back to his conversation with Sabrina. And in particular what she said about his gym fights. Ash knew he spent a lot of time with his two pokemon. After a days travel Ash began to understand what Sabrina said. While he always had pokemon matches on the road he never really looked at the matches as matches. Ever since Sabrina's conversation he really watched the pokemon fights he fought in.

He was too good with fighting with Pikachu and Psyduck. Ash would not want to say there were strong. But the trainers he fought on the road have not held a challenge nearly since Pewter City. Ash mulled that thought over. He honestly had not thought about when the last time he was pushed in a fight outside the gym battles. Maybe his only loss training outside Pewter City. It was only well after leaving Pewter City that Ash realized that that opponent wore a Pokemon League jacket. An Official pokemon League jacket. Not the memorabilia sold in a store like his hat.

Maybe it was time to train a third pokemon.

Ash began to wonder what was his aversion to getting another pokemon. It was not like he had no desire to get more pokemon. But every time he was thinking to get one, the ones he found did not match up to pikachu and now psyduck.

'Maybe that's the problem.' Ash said aloud one day. Psyduck and Pikachu had decided they wanted to walk with Ash. It slowed the journey with psyduck hobbling along to keep pace until Ash just put Psyduck in his back pack and they continued walking with Psyduck's head sticking out of the back flap.

'Pikapi?'

Ash looked over to Pikachu and reached around to pat Psyduck on the head. 'I think I am too picky when I am looking for new partners. Really Pikachu you were not strong when we became partners and neither were you Psyduck. We just worked hard to get there.'

Ash looked up to see a pidgeotto in a tree looking at them to see if they had any food. 'Pikachu go up. See if this one wants to fight.'

Pikachu ran up to the pokemon and flashed a little electricity. The pidgeotto obliged looking to challenge the group for entering his territory.

The bird was small for a pidgeotto. Ash recognized the signs of the small tufts of white feathers on its chest. Pidgey's were pretty common in Pallet Town. One of the first things children learned was how to avoid pokemon to stay safe. Ash was familiar enough with this pokemon to see the signs that it had evolved years ago.

'Pikachu quick attack.' Ash set down his backpack and turned it so Psyduck could watch.

Pikachu disappeared and hit the flying pokemon in the beak with his tail knocking the bird to the ground. 'Thunder wave.' Ash lazily called.

The ground was covered in tendrils of electricity. They rolled over the pidgeotto, prevented him from taking off. It's wings were numb and he was slow to respond. Ash tossed a pokeball. Pidgeotto looked at the ball curiously before the bird turned into red energy. The ball closed shut and three blips later Ash caught his first wild pokemon.

'Huh.'

Ash dug into his bag. 'PSY!' 'Sorry Psyduck.' and pulled out a potion for their new teammate. Ash pulled out his pokedex and inserted the potion into the pokeball to help the bird recover. All the while Ash's pokedex blip at the new information about Pidgeotto.

When it was fully healed, Ash let the bird out of its pokeball. It ruffled its feathers and looked around curiously. Ash saw the look in both of his other two pokemon. Moving in and out of the pokeball always looked jarring to Ash.

'Hey there. My name is Ash.' Ash reached out with his hand filled with pokeblocks. 'I am a pokemon trainer. I am looking for a few more friends and partners.' Ash remembered Gary Oaks' lectures and tried to keep himself as transparent as possible. Pidgeotto walked up to Ash and started pecking the food. After a moment where Pidgeotto chewed the food it cooed happily. Ash smiled in relief.

'This is Pikachu, and the little guy in the bag is Psyduck.' Psyduck focused at the new pokemon and quacked before falling over while still in the bag. He caught himself with his mental powers and uprighted himself before quacking again. Psyduck looked away in annoyance. It still made no move to get out of the bag when he found he could not walk while in it. Ash laughed and picked up his bag and placed Psyduck in his lap.

Pikachu curiously poked his tail at Pidgeotto's wing unsure of the reaction he would get. Pidgeotto looked at him and obligingly raised his wing. Pikachu happily went up close to the bird pokemon and sat under his wing. A second later Pikachu rubbed his cheek in greeting to the bird's breast.

'Its good to see we are all getting along. I have to be honest with you Pidgeotto. I am looking for more partners for the gyms who will soon require me to have a minimum number of pokemon. It has only been us three. And any pokemon who join us will be behind. But I promise I'll have you caught up to their ability quickly.' Pidgeotto would have protested at being weak until Pikachu tweaked his beak. Pidgeotto jerked his head. His beak was still sore. Pidgeotto kept any protests silent after that.

'Let's keep going guys. We still have a long ways to go. Pidgeotto needs a lot of practice.' Ash sighed at the thought, 'And we still need money.'

-o-

Ash had already felt the trip towards Lavender town was worth it. Pidgeotto was proving to be a good choice for the team. It filled a gap in the teams make up. The new pokemon was also willing to listen to commands and follow them even if it did not see the reasons for those commands until after the pokebattles were over.

Ash had the group make their camp twenty minutes from Pokemon Tower. The tower was a memorial for all sorts of pokemon. But it was also a gathering site for ghost pokemon as well. His mom had always told him stories of the place. But he didn't realize the hesitation he felt going there until he could see it sticking out of the forest as a single monument. He exhaled and slapped his face. He set up his camp along a fresh water stream. It babbled calmly to the group. Ash smiled at Psyduck who sat there serenely. He was enjoying the lack of minds.

'Alright guys we are training here tonight. Tomorrow morning we will go pay our respects to the memorial before heading back to Lavender Town. Pikachu your energy conversion is going great. We will likely have you take breaks from gym battling until we know we can convert energy reliably to electricity. For right now I want you to try change your energy from swift into a pushing energy. Something that can simply push things forward.'

'Pika?' Pikachu just looked at his trainer blankly. Not really sure what Ash was asking.

'I want you to try and actually learn surf. I've been thinking it over. And I want you to try and learn something that is not based on electricity. And I don't think I want to look for a devoted water pokemon for our team any time soon.' A distant quack could be heard from Psyduck in protest. Ash and Pikachu laughed. 'Sorry Psyduck. Pikachu, think about what Misty said to you. Compress and expand energy. Not swift bombs.'

Pikachu nodded and went to the stream.

Ash turned to Psyduck pulled out an empty pokeball in front of the yellow duck. 'Alright Psyduck this is an exercise for amnesia. I want you to try and pulled your mind towards the pokeball and leave your body behind. The goal of the move is to make it so everything else drops away. I want you to try to see only the pokeball and nothing else. Focus on letting the world drop away and see just every detail of the pokeball you can.' Ash set the pokeball twenty feet away from Psyduck. 'Come get me if you need any help. I am going to introduce Pidgeotto to basics training.'

Pidgeotto saw how the other two pokemon tensed before going back to what they were doing. The bird turned his head to Ash as he was pulling leaves off a few branches and swinging them in well practiced arcs. He turned to Pidgeotto.

'You can call for a stop when ever you like. The ceiling for you should only be the top of the trees. For practice stay under that canopy. If you need to rest just land on a branch out of reach and take a breather. We are going to test a few of your skills and how well you can pick up instructions. With Pikachu and Psyduck I found I am a little vague when calling out attacks in the heat of a fight. They had to tease out meanings more than I really wish.' There was a round of agreements from the Ash's other two pokemon, he turned to give them an annoyed look. They turned back to their respective practices.

'Alright Pidgeotto, start attacking me with gust. Treat me like a normal pokemon.' The bird looked at the trainer dubiously. It had never seen a human fight a pokemon with out others. 'It will be fine.'

Pidgeotto flapped its wings hard to create a burst of wing that headed towards Ash. Ash rolled out of the way and got up to his feet before charging his newest pokemon. 'Keep moving Pidgeotto. You never want to be a sitting target. If you need to glide, circle around to do it. But you should never wait for someone to counter attack.' Ash ordered as he swung a thin whip like branch at his pokemon. The bird moved. Pidgeotto flew around in a circle beginning to understand what Ash was asking him to do. Soon Pidgeotto no longer needed Ash's coaxing to get him to participate on his own.

Pidgeotto found him self testing his trainer with wind. Ash planted a foot on a near by tree and was able to land two steps on it before jumping off it and towards the Pidgeotto. Ash had abandoned the tree branches and tackled Pidgeotto to the ground. The bird landed in a lump. Ash was able to land on his feet but not before loosing balance and falling over. He started laughing at Pidgeotto's look of incredulity. Ash remained laying on the ground and sighed. 'I told you Pidgeotto. I will be fine. Really I have done this for months with Pikachu and Psyduck. Even with a flying pokemon like you, I should be OK to fight normally. We are not really trying to hurt each other. We are trying to get you used to moving like I want you to move.' Ash got up and stretched before he went to the stream to pick up rocks.

Just then Psyduck quack loudly and persistently. Ash looked over as Psyduck teared up. Ash saw the pokeball on the ground at Psyducks feet. Ash laughed. 'That's why its an exercise Psyduck. Keep practicing and try not to let it fly and hit you in the face again.' Ash looked amused while he went back to Pidgeotto.

'You ready for another round Pidgeotto?' The bird perked up at the idea that they would continue. 'Good we still got a few hours of day light left.' Ash threw an accurate stone towards Pidgeotto who took to the air to dodge the attack.

-o-

Ash had to say Sabrina was right. Coming to the Pokemon Tower helped him. At the tower he was able to read the memorials of the men, women and Pokemon who died of battle wounds and old age. The tower was the first of its kind. The fifteen year old structure has aged from a ivory white limestone tower into a solemn gray stone.

Pokemon Tower was first built to honor those who died at the Siege of Kanto in Vermillion. Ash could feel some of the curious ghost Pokemon that had gathered by the sorrow felt at the monument. Ash had been curious if he should capture one of the sake of having his fourth pokemon just done with. But it did not feel right looking for Pokemon inside the memorial. After spending the day on the various floors with Pikachu and Psyduck by his side, he felt more calm and at ease.

Ash knew it was his own fault for feeling that way, but he still felt hurt over the ideal he had of the gym leaders. He was unsure if he could ever trust a gym leader to have his best interests at heart. But he could definitely follow one now after reflecting about it here.

It was getting dark and the ghost Pokemon would start coming out soon. Ash took his Pokemon and left the tower after one last look to the plate that honored those Pokemon that died in gym battles.

'I wondered when you would come out. I almost began to believe it wasn't you.'

Ash looked over to the stone lanes that lined the building. Gary Oak sat quietly with a pleased look on his face. He stood and walked over to Ash.

'Gary Oak.' Ash waved Pikachu and Psyduck over when they started to wander off on their own. With a smile Ash looked back to Gary, 'It's been a long time since I've seen a familiar face from Pallet Town.'

Gary looked pleased as well. While they never got along well. It seemed as they have had both matured in their travels. 'I am actually surprised you decided to keep going this season Ash. You started out really late. From what I heard you left town while still recovering.'

Ash waved the concerns away. 'I was fine. I was running around Pallet before I left. But I had to slow down before I started working on badges just to train Pikachu here.'

Ash scratched pikachus' chin. Pikachu leaned into the scratch happily letting sparks that light the air in dim flashes of light. 'I am pretty sure my mom and Professor Oak were sure I will not make it in time to participate in the conference. I was too, to be honest. I still feel that way really. I wasn't letting my self cutting corners though. That would just hurt me later.'

'Well I can at least help you get an idea where you should be. I am on track to get my eight qualifying gyms done and a few extra for practice. I am at six right now.'

Ash sulked. 'I am at four. Pewter, Celadon, Cerulean and Saffron.'

Gary whistled at the list. 'That's still quite a list. Those are all major gyms. The cascade badge and the Marsh badge are the harder of the ones you got. It's why I am here actually I was looking for a ghost pokemon to prepare to fight Saffron's Gym. What was that like for you?'

Ash smiled at the memory of his time with Sabrina. 'Sabrina was nice. Her pokemon are really powerful. Psyduck almost lost to her Alakazam.' Ash said while rubbing Psyduck's head affectionately.

'You fought an alakazam with a psyduck? That's ballsy Ash. Well the gym battles are based on our badge count right? So at least they gave you a fighting chance.'

Ash's thoughts came to a halt. Sabrina said that was her strongest pokemon. Erika had said something similar about her Ivysaur fighting as if it was a ten badge battle. Misty had said something about the dewgong reserved for tournaments too now that he was really thinking about it. Ash filed that thought to ask Misty the moment he got back into town. Maybe her perfume got to her by the time he got back into Lavender Town.

'Ash?'

Ash looked up. He had not realized he had zoned out. 'Sorry Gary I think I am a little tired. What was that?'

Gary grinned in understanding. Trainers did not have it easy. 'I asked how many pokemon do you have? I got my core 6 and two back up teams to alternate for the tournaments I have been running into.'

What?

Ash blinked and looked at Gary's belt. Sure enough he had a full row of six pokemon on him. Ash laughed and raised his jacket to reveal his belt. Gary just stared for a moment not sure what to make of that.

'You are only running around with three pokemon? Is that just so you can train more when you capture them? I haven't thought of that.'

Ash laughed at that reasoning. That was an actual good idea. 'No Gary. These are all my pokemon. I only have three.'

'What? How? I don't- I mean, by Arcerus Ash! How the hell did you beat four gyms with only three pokemon?'

'I actually only did it with just Pikachu until the last one when I felt Psyduck was ready to fight Sabrina. And I just got Pidgeotto here three days ago.' smiled slightly at the memory of Psyduck's match.

Gary just covered his hand with his face.

Ash looked at Gary with concern. 'You ok there Gary?'

'Give me a moment Ash.' Gary inhaled and exhaled while he tried to regain his composure. 'Ash I have to ask you. Do you ever watch other people fight the gym leaders to prepare yourself?'

Ash perked up at that. He had never even been in the same gym as another trainer with the exception of the one that barged into the arena during his fight with Erika. 'No why?'

'Ash I think you are more ahead than you think you are. Or you are just really slow and stupid. Have you lost a gym battle before?'

'Close some times but no.'

Gary started pacing. 'Ok, ahead then. Ash do yourself a favor and go watch a few gym battles. You will get it as soon as you start seeing them. And for the love of god have psyduck learn teleport. Or if your pidgeotto evolves have him learn how to fly you around the region. There is no reason why you should not be in the conference. It will be a down right tragedy.' Gary looked at his pokedex. It gave him an alarm showing it was time for him to go hunting.

'Do it Ash. I want to fight you but I can wait till the conference. You better be there.' Gary started walking away while shaking his head.

Ash watched him walk away and felt oddly warmed by the care Gary showed. Ash looked down to Psyduck. 'So, teleport huh?'

'Psy?'

-o-

Ash sighed happily while waiting for the other side to answer the call. All of his pokemon were already in the Center resting. Ash just wanted to make a final call to Misty now that his mom was updated on where he was. A click opened the channel. Ash was about to greet Misty but found himself looking at three unfamiliar women.

'Um Hello?'

The blonde woman asked, 'Thank you for calling the Cerulean Gym. How can I help you?'

Ash remembered her. She was on the rise calling his match with Misty. 'I am looking for Misty. My name is Ash.'

All three girls gave an oh sound before they all left. Ash could faintly hear shouting and screaming on the other side before he could hear Misty say something indiscernible. Her face was bright red. The blush had reached her neck and shoulders.

'Hi Ash!' she said excitedly. Ash laughed. He smiled back relieved she did not look upset with him.

'Hey Misty. Do you have time to talk?'

Misty giggled. 'I do. I was actually waiting for you to call for a few days.' Misty pulled out a small bottle. It was the perfume he bought in Celadon.

'So it did get to you. I was worried it wouldn't make the trip by postal.'

'I love it Ash! Thank you. I take it this is what you bought when you were trying to look for Erika before your gym battle.'

Misty played with the bottle and then looked to Ash. Ash could not stop the grin that spread across his face. 'You caught me. I would have said something before but I was distracted.'

Misty nodded in understanding. 'So where are you now?'

'Lavender Town-' Ash looked at her and thought about what Sabrina said. 'You know exactly when I get to a gym city don't you?'

Misty laughed. 'You bet I do. You have a lot of gym leaders interested. Don't be surprised if you start getting an audience when you are not in such a remote section of the region. So psyduck had his first gym battle?'

Ash excitedly recounted the match. Eventually the conversation moved to his talk with Sabrina after the match. 'I did want to ask you. Am I that different from other trainers? I still haven't seen another challenger.'

Misty gave him a considering look. Finally Misty set down the perfume bottle she had played with in her hands. 'Ash. As your friend I will say you are an amazing trainer. But as an opponent. You are scary. Erika, Sabrina, and I had talked and compared notes.' Misty sighed and scratched her head. 'I actually got Dewgong to fight you because I was expecting you to be, at best, an above average challenger but with a pokemon that had the type advantage. It was my duty to give you a challenge. Starmie was my strongest pokemon, and with you likely using pikachu I asked my sister who had two strong pokemon. Ones used for international tournaments. Lily let me use her dewgong. Dewgong barely listened to me at first but as I was experienced with working with water pokemon I felt I could handle her pretty well.'

Misty looked at him in the eye and leaned forward. 'Ash, I don't think you realize how decimated you left my team. And you used no type advantage to do it. It was pure skill.'

'Erika and Sabrina say your fights with them were incredibly short. You took apart their strongest pokemon in a matter of minutes. It... It leaves an impression on a girl.' Misty wrapped her arms around herself.

Ash opened his mouth a few times to try and say something. Anything. Ash didn't know how to feel about this. 'I was not even doing anything special, how did you- they normally fight?'

Misty started laughing. She couldn't help it. Ash was normally so stoic and non-pulsed. To see him grasping at straws because he did not know what he was doing right. 'Ash, go watch some normal battles. Don't try and compete against them. Just watch. You will see what I mean.'

'Gary said the same thing earlier this week.' Misty looked at him curiously. 'Gary is someone I know from Pallet Town. He said the same thing. I still don't think I am doing anything special. I just train my pokemon and fight.'

Misty smiled. 'Well keep doing what you are doing Mr. Ketchum. So did you send me anything else I should intercept before my sisters get their hands on it? They nearly kept the box out of my hands for a day before I was able to open it.'

Ash smiled at the idea of her and her sisters playing keep away. 'Just one from Saffron. I will be out of touch for a while when I leave lavender Town. I think I am going to go the long way to Vermillion. I always wanted to see the cliff side ocean.'

Misty smiled. 'You are going to have to send me some pictures if you can manage it. With you in it.' Misty added as an afterthought.

'I will. Too bad I don't have anything from you though.' Ash said while thinking of just having pictures in general of his family. It was nice seeing a familiar face from Pallet Town. Why had he not thought of getting pictures of his Parents?

'Maybe next time you see me Ash.' Misty winked. 'And thank you again for the gift. I love it.' Misty almost got ready to end the call. Ash had called late and it was getting past midnight. 'Before I go, go look at Sabrina's gift. She said you would have forgotten by now.'

Ash laughed. He did forget about it. 'Good night Misty I'll send you some cards but it could be a month before you hear from me at a Pokemon Center.'

Misty sighed in disappointment. 'I understand. Stay safe out there.'

Ash went to his room. The boy ruffled through his back pack until he found the box. After sitting at the room's desk he opened the package under the lamp. A small black ball sat at the bottom of the box.

'A training machine.' Ash flipped it over and scanned the serial number with his pokedex. Ash smiled as he read the training machine's name 'Teleport.'

A/N:

As people ask more questions chapters seem to answer them before I get a chance to say anything. Thanks everyone for the reviews. And for Bukama's review, that was an over sight but it leads an opening for an intentional pokemon that pops up down the road. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5: Duty

Chapter 5

Ash looked at the ocean. The cliffs on route twelve didn't disappoint. The sheer cliff drop off gave a un-obstructed view of the ocean. The wind that blew off the cliffs were strong with the smell of ocean water.

Pidgeotto screeched far above him. Ash recognized that as a signal of other travelers. Ash raised his arm and Pidgeotto landed on his arm. 'Good job Pidgeotto. We'll go track them down and see if we can get you a few more practice matches.'

Pidgeotto was turned into a red beam of light before Ash put away the pokeball. Ash whistled to Pikachu who had ran off to get a closer view of the cliff edge. 'Let's go Pikachu. I don't think Pidgeotto would appreciate it if he has to save you if you fell off.' Pikachu agreed and began to run through the tall grass to him. Pikachu hopped on his shoulder and Ash started walking south. The trip was largely uneventful.

Psyduck got quite the bit of practice now that Pidgeotto was able to trust the three of them in a spar. Amnesia was nearly instinctual for the yellow duck pokemon. He had more energy and found himself happily running along with Pikachu completely unaware how rare that action is for his species.

Pikachu was able to start influencing water. It just took him a while to generate the energy with out using his electricity. Ash had to have him stop when he started trying to have a water fight with Psyduck and took it too far. Ash had to wait an extra day for all the camp supplies to dry out before he could think of continuing the journey.

Ash had the three take turns fighting each other and himself to keep things varied during the slow periods where Ash could find no one or no pokemon for them to fight against. But Ash knew they should pick up their pace. They were only half way to Vermillion based on the little traveling station they ran into two days ago. Camp was made seven hours later with no sight of the group Pidgeotto spotted. Ash sighed. He really wanted something to change up the routine.

Pidgeotto screeched an alarm. Ash looked up but could not see anything. His pokedex blipped an emergency signal. Ash went to it and read a message stating:

STAND BY

Ash started packing up his camp. It was quickly approaching dusk but that did not mean anything from that kind of signal.

A thud sounded above him.

'Trainer, you are being drafted. Pack up. We have to cover over one hundred fifty miles in ten minutes.' Ash looked up to the night sky but could not see who called to him until he was nearly on the ground. A large Pidgeot landed quickly. On the Pokemon's back sat a tall man with blonde hair in a tightly bound bandanna and goggles. He jumped off his mount. The man gave one cursory glance at Ash before he turned to detach the saddle bag that had rested on the pokemon's side. Ash caught the stylized 'L' on the man's jacket. Ash recalled Psyduck and turned to Pikachu before the pokemon slumped in defeat and allowed itself to be recalled as well. Ash whistled and Pidgeotto flew down to be recalled not sure what was going on.

When you are drafted, you follow and obey unquestioningly. It was the first rule you learn when preparing to become a trainer. As a trainer you are a trained fighter. In exchange for paying for much of the hardware and the facilities for a pokemon center, all trainers sign up for conscripted duty if the Pokemon League ever requires it.

Ash never thought he would be drafted so soon into his career.

'We are meeting several other trainers I have called within fifty miles that would be able to make the journey by air with the exception of you. They will be flying to the coordinates I handed out to your pokedex. We have several pokemon who had started a massive fight for territory between several stranded ships.'

Ash saw the man pull out a pokedex that was well more advanced than his. 'You are currently the highest ranked electric pokemon user in the area. You will be attached to a current group of trainers who are attempting to push the pokemon away from the ships. You may have back up with on board trainers, but most have been trying to protect the ship for hours. They will likely be exhausted.' The League Trainer pulled out several straps out of a bag before handing them to Ash.

Ash recognized a flying harness when he saw one. It was one of the few pieces of equipment that was mandatory to learn about before becoming a licensed trainer. He stuffed his hat in his bag afraid he would loose it along the way. Ash thought back to those training days. 'Why was I not sent a message through my Pokedex? I could have tried to meet you.'

The Pokemon League trainer nodded in approval of the question. 'It was faster to get to you with my pokemon than have you run through the plains at night.'

The blonde league trainer released a second pokemon, a dark brown and red fearow. The pokemon dwarfed the already large Pidgeot by a few meters. It looked at its trainer steadily.

'Take Pidgeot here. She knows the way. Have your pikachu on stand by. Again, you will land on the S.S. Anne and when the flying pokemon are clear, you are to attempt to push back the water pokemon away from the ships. There are already trainers on the ship, but they had been fighting off the pokemon for hours now. Expect not many of them to be able to assist you. The other trainers should be flying in within twenty minutes after you landed. So keep an eye out in the air. I'll send an alert signal through your pokedex. Is your harness set?'

'It feels tighter than I remember.'

The blonde trainer gave the straps a good tug around the Ash's hips and chest. 'You'll thank them when we start flying at super sonic speeds.' The trainer looked at the Pidgeot. 'I want you both at the ships in a few minutes.' The pidgeot cooed seriously. Ash put his bag so it was sitting against his stomach before approaching his ride.

The blonde Pokemon League trainer made sure Ash was secure in Pidgeot's harness before patting the bird. The league trainer jumped on his fearow and the group took off in separate directions. Ash felt his stomach lurch as the sudden rise. The harness had little room to allow him to sit up right. It forced his chest against the bird's back. He gripped the saddle when he felt the bird go faster.

After a few seconds he could no longer keep his eyes open. Suddenly he could relax as the Pidgeot had gone fast enough that there was a bubble of air. Ash looked around the birds neck but was not prepared to see how high he was. He looked back into the birds neck. If this is what Gary wanted him to do all the time, then he was out of his mind.

The air pressed hard against his body and he found it hard to breath when they began to descend. Quickly he found it easiest to breath into the feathers in Pidgeot's neck while traveling so fast. And just as quickly as it happened the bird slowed to a glide. Ash was able to see again without the air forcing his eyes shut. Another lurch gave him the signal that he was going to get off. He could hear the pokemon still fighting. Ash finally was able to see the ships. There were three cruise liners sitting in the bay. They were cut off from the ocean by a dark mass just inside the mouth of the bay mouth. Ash barely made out shapes when a random light of an energy blast lit the group. Ash looked north and realized Vermillion City was right there.

'Wow, that was fast by air.' There was a sudden lurch and the Pidgeot landed.

Ash unhooked himself and looked around. It was a deck of the center cruise liner. He saw the other two boats flanked and were slightly behind the Anne. And at the mouth of the bay were...

Gyrados.

There were a frenzy of Gyrados.

Ash saw several fighting Gyrados rise out of the water near his ship. Ash released Pikachu. 'Thunder shock.'

Pikachu saw the mass of pokemon in the water. 'Pikapika!' Several flashes of lights hit the Gyrados rapidly. The nearest one roared and turned to pikachu. 'Thunder shock.' Pikachu let loose a quick compressed bolt of energy at the Gyrados that held for several seconds before pikachu released the blast. The Gyrados backed off. It glared at Pikachu before swiming to join a few others away from the ship.

Ash noticed the bird was leaving. Ash would have to find time later to take off the flying harness. He released his other pokemon. 'We have been drafted to protect the ship. Psyduck. Amnesia.'

Psyduck's eyes went blank and he floated above the deck slightly. 'I want you to find me the fighting trainers.' The first thing Ash felt was fear. It swallowed him whole and the boy had to fight it off to see clearly. Ash saw hundreds of images of people hiding huddled up in the bowels of the three ships. Screams and shouts echoed in his head. Finally Psyduck focused on looking for the trainers. Ash realized it was just as jarring to his pokemon. Psyduck started looking for minds of Pokemon instead, they were a lot more calm.

Ash felt the images of seven trainers on the deck above him towards the front and one in the back facing away from the Gyrados. He felt the impression the group was confused where the other bolt of lightening came from. 'Pidgeotto think you can pick me up and take me to the deck above us towards the front?' Ash reached out his arm to his pokemon. The bird did not look to sure but was willing to try.

'Psyduck follow. Keep amnesia active. You need to tune out the passengers. Even if you have to stop what I am telling you to do. Tune them out first. Lets go pikachu.' Ash opened his free hand and Pikachu jumped in to his arm. Pidgeotto gripped Ash's outstretched arm carefully as to not shred it with his talons and started lifting the group into the air. Pidgeotto must have been surprised to be able to lift the group as he flew the group higher and faster than he intended. But it got the job done.

Ash landed next to a group of several trainers of various ages. A few looked to him and welcomed the help. 'It's good to see another trainer.'

'How is that frenzy of Gyrados doing?' Ash asked while looking at the group of trainers. They all looked pretty tired.

'They seemed to be content for now to stay fighting at the mouth of the harbor.' Said a girl in pink. She petted her voltorb. 'Was that you that shot the gyrados that came out of the water?'

Ash nodded before looking at the ocean.

An older man with a tired looking Raichu added. 'The fighting slowed down for the past few minutes. Its been happening like that all evening. They will fight for hours and then stop for twenty minutes to regroup. But they always pick up the fighting again. A few of them have started to circle around. See there?' Ash saw a few ripples in the water. The dim light was making it hard to see, but Ash saw that the group were heading straight for the larger mass of pokemon. 'There they go. Some league-man counted over forty of them. Damn if we know where they came from.'

'Have any of them approached the ships recently?' Ash sighed, relieved it was not as bad as he feared.

'Wait till they start fighting again they will start moving this way just to have room to fight.' Said another teen aged girl. She tied her hair back in a pony tail with a jolteon resting on her lap.

'Why haven't the ships just made it back to port?'

'Engines are dead. Its how we found a few of them. The group were swimming below the boats and a few skidded against the bottoms of the ships as they were leaving. It took out all the engines. The S.S. Marie by some miracle did not sink from it. All three ships are dead in the water.'

Ash turned to see a man in sailor clothing walk up to the group. 'Get ready guys the Pokemon League rep said they look like they are going to start going at it again.'

The other trainers got into positions to defend the ship. 'Psyduck Amnesia. You will be my eyes. Pidgeotto come here.' Ash took off his backpack and pulled out a glow stick. He broke it to make it glow a neon green. Ash found the rope and tied it to his pokemon's neck. 'Our reinforcements haven't shown up yet. Circle around and try and make sure they follow you and come from low against the water and behind us. I don't want them to get caught up in the shock waves.'

Even while he gave instructions the other trainers half listened. 'Psyduck deflect any stray shots away from the ship. So long as they are not redirected back out towards the ships or behind us.' Psyduck quacked. 'Pikachu. Start cycling electricity buddy.'

Ash did not have to wait long. The frenzy started less than a minute later. This time several Gyrados were pushed towards the boats. Ash pointed at a stray hyper beam that was moving too close to the ship. 'Psyduck light screen.' The beam was deflected into the sky.

'Get ready guys I think they are coming for the ship.' Cried the old man. He pointed his Riachu to attack the closest one. A bolt of electricity thundered at the Gyrados who flinched but kept going.

Ash stood side by side with the group. 'Thunder bolt.' Pikachu shot out several precise shots at the Gyrados face. It turned its head from the impact. Three more rose out of the water seeing one of their own get injured. The roaring Gyrados was a signal to all of the electric pokemon. They all fired volley after volley at the Gyrados who either shrugged off the attacks are were being pushed away by concentrated fire.

One of the girls screamed. A Gyrados got close enough to bite and lift up the girls Jolteon. 'Psyduck Disable.' Psyduck froze the Gryrados in place. 'Pikachu Thundershock Jolteon, Charge her up to break loose.'

Pikachu fired a bolt of electricity at the Jolteon as her trainer screamed, 'No!'

Ash ignored the cry. Jolteon felt the electricity and began to absorb it and release it after the electricity cycled through its body. The Gyrados released the pokemon. Jolteon jumped back to the deck and yipped in pain but still had the energy to growl at the Gyrados. Blood seeped from two prominent puncture marks.

The girl grabbed ahold of her pokemon even as she was slightly electrocuted by the action. 'What are you doing attacking my pokemon?'

'Everyone close your eyes! Pikachu Thunder burst the group.' Pikachu leaned deeply into a growl and released quick flashing bolts of electricity at the group of Gyrados. One of them was slithering onto the deck. The lightning chained through the group. A chorus of roars echoed over the ship. Pikachu held the chain open until the furthest began to move away.

'We are clear.' Ash nodded to Pikachu who slumped. 'Rest up guys they will be back in a few.' Ash turned to the girl. She had obviously had the pokemon for a long time. How did she not know that electricity could replenish her pokemon? The pokemon was confused at the anger her trainer had for Ash. 'Look at your pokemon.' Ash pointed to the Jolteon.

The teenager looked at her pokemon still worried. The Jolteon was licking her wounds but the blood just broke the skin.

'Jolteon is fine. That electricity wouldn't have hurt her. I gave her a charge so she could break loose on her own. Had Pikachu attacked Gyrados instead that would have possibly forced the Gyrados to close his jaws and kill her.'

The girl glared at him but lost the heat in her eyes. Ash sighed and looked around. Everyone was tiring. 'If you are tired get inside. You will do no one any favors if you get caught up or loose focus. Come back if you feel up to it but reinforcements should be here soon. I was just the quickest.'

Ash saw several relieved looks at the announcement. Most of the trainers went inside. They had been taking turns battling for a few hours. Finally it was just Ash and an old man with the Raichu. Ash eyed the Raichu. It looked weak from a lack of electricity more than the fact it was tired.

'Hey Old man?'

The Raichu owner looked over to him while still standing square with his pokemon. 'Can your Raichu keep going if Pikachu transfers some electricity?' Ash saw several more Gyrados look more interested in moving to the other ships. He saw the lights glow off the Gyrados on those ships.

'You think you can keep going Rairai?'

'Raichu.' Agreed the large brown mouse.

'Pikachu go transfer some electricity to him. We'll need as many eyes as we can get.'

Pikachu jumped next to his evolved counter part and the two touched cheeks. Raichu sighed with relief now that he felt electricity flow through his body. He nodded at the younger mouse in appreciation and the two turned back to the Gyrados. 'Thanks trainer.'

'It's Ash.' Ash smiled at the old man.

'Brooks, Ash.' The two turned back to the observe the other ships. They were able to push their groups of Gyrados away.

Ash heard a screech from Pidgeotto coming from behind him. 'Psyduck help guide Pidgeotto in.' Ash showed an image of Psyduck leading Pidgeotto with the glow stick.

Psyduck made it a reality and the glow stick around Pidgeotto's neck began to lift nearly startling the poor bird before it led the group in a full circle and low and behind the ships and through parts of the deck before they landed on the highest deck with Ash.

Ash saw the corner of his eye and nodded at the good work. 'Good job both of you. Pidgeotto start looking for more. Give me a signal if you spot anything dangerous. Psyduck will let me know.'

Pidgeotto cooed and took off in a narrow spin. Ash looked at Pikachu who stood steady and released burst after burst of energy. 'Pikachu I'll be right back. Psyduck, show him the water.'

Pikachu growled in annoyance as Psyduck entered his mind. Ash had enough wits about him to laugh at Pikachu's predicament.

'I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town.' The seven trainers that landed began to take off their flying gear. Each had their own flying pokemon and they whistled at the mass of Gyrados. Most of the trainers were in their late teens. Ash noticed a few familiar faces from tournaments he watched just last year. That was encouraging.

'I'm Riley. How goes the fight?' A young man just out of his teens looked at the group that pushed off another Gyrados.

Ash looked at the current defenders. 'We need to get these guys inside to rest. They passengers are getting tired and starting to group up to fight. Its making them targets over their pokemon. This should be a more even fight with fresh trainers.'

Ash watched the group move to the defenders. The trainers instructed the passengers to go inside and rest before spreading them selves across the whole length of the boat. Ash smiled in appreciation. It looked like they were all confident enough to handle a Gyrados one on one with out having to team up like the passengers. Ash turned back to his two pokemon. It was never good to leave them to their own devices. Ash had to break up more than one competition lately.

'Psyduck release Pikachu.' Pikachu sighed before glaring at his trainer. Ash gave his team a smile. They worked well together. Some time later, the roars got louder and water splashed against the ship.

Another scream from a girl on the deck below alerted him. 'Psyduck.'

Psyduck reached out and showed him two of the defenders were loosing a battle against four Gyrados. The ship shook just briefly from the impact as they boarded the cruise liner.

'Pikachu cover them. Psyduck cover us.' Ash followed pikachu down the stairs to the lower deck. The two girls had five pokemon out. Each tried to ward of the Gryados to little effect.

'They are enraged pull your pokemon back!' Ash pointed the Gyrados. Pikachu jumped on one of the suspended life rafts and used as much energy as he could pull so quickly to growl at the Gyrados. The deep loud rumbling made them turn. 'Thunder, full power.' Ash grabbed the two girls. A Gyrados on the deck tried to bite them. A Vaporeon used a hydro pump to forcefully push them away.

Ash was not sure if it was tired, or the move was not very effective. Ash pulled the girls further into the boat against their protests. 'Recall your pokemon. They are not going to help for now. Get some rest.'

Ash turned his head and heard pikachu call a warning.

'We can still fight.' Scowled one girl.

'But they can't. Look at them.' Ash pointed to the girls pokemon and walked away. He was not even sure if they would stay inside. He just knew Pikachu needed him.

Pikachu agilely pounced from suspended ship to another vantage point. He could not get these Gyrados off the ship. Ash whistled while he ran to higher ground. As soon as he saw Pidgeotto he called, 'Whirlwind! Suck up the water!' Pidgeotto saw the Gryados on the ship and understood what Ash was asking. He created a whirlwind and started flying around it using the force of his wings to spread the air current faster. Pidgeotto did another Whirlwind while watching the Gryrados. He could not afford to be spotted.

After a third one was created, the water in the sea was slowly moving into the pool and spouting towards the top. Pidgeotto did one final attempt to pull all of the individual whirlwinds into a massive water spout. He cried a successful message to Ash.

Ash closed his eyes and thought of Psyduck. His pokemon answered immediately. Ash pictured his hands over both sides of the ship to protect the doors and to funnel water. Ash felt Psyduck's effort to erect those barriers against that much water.

Ash looked below and saw Pikachu use his speed to dodge the Gyrados that were attempting to eat him.

'Pikachu, Surf.'

Pikachu cheered and jumped away from the Gyrados giving up hard fought deck length to jump back to Pidgeotto and throwing what looked like a swift attack towards the water spout. The stars faded before making contact into the water.

'Pikachu!' The electric mouse growled. The water from the water spout erupted towards the ship and sweeping thousands of gallons of water onto the deck. The cruisliner rocked from the sudden ontake of flowing water. The sudden wave lifted Pikachu and the Gyrados with it. The water pokemon tried to grab onto anything they could but found invisible walls from preventing them.

'Psyduck get him.' Ash reached out his arm. Pikachu flew out of the water and right into his arms. Pikachu chaa'ed and shook off the water.

Ash groaned at the sudden splash of water to his face. 'Thanks for the hose down.' Ash looked beyond Pikachu and was relieved that the Gyrados were finally off the boat. 'It looks like we did it.' Ash whistled and waved at Pidgeotto who flew off back to his routes. The whirlwinds fell and the water spout collapsed back into the water. Ash ran up the last of the stairs back to his previous position.

'Good job Psyduck. Show me how it looks.' Psyduck concentrated and Ash saw the surf move physically displaced a group of the Gyrados from the ships. It was not a lot. But it was less likely they would try to board now.

Ash looked forward and started making commands to his team.

Ash was not sure how long he stood on the deck. He felt the people move to his left back and forth. Ash heard a few calls and only called out to them when they asked questions. He could not afford to focus on minor things like the conversations that happened near by. Ash kept his attention divided on the important tasks. He guided Pidgeotto, who was constantly leading people back and forth between boats, to keep information current. He needed to watch Pikachu to make sure he does not over exert himself every time he released electricity. Psyduck helped him see where the Gyrados were so he could direct Pikachu to attack the ones who moved closest before they could attack the boat. Every time he felt he would slow down he remembered the fear Psyduck had inadvertently tapped into. Ash was very conscious of what was at stake.

Ash concentrated on the growing darkness that covered the night sky. The dark was so impenetrable that Psyduck's enhanced senses were lost to the nothingness the sea turned into when the others did not fire any lights to the ocean. There was even a time where Ash dimly realized the only lights he saw were from Pikachu's own electricity. But he had no luxury to pay attention.

The Gyrados were unrelenting in pointing their beams in the direction of the ships. Their massive bodies slapped the ocean bring up waves that would endanger the ships by taking on water. The boat would shake and shudder. Moments flashed where Ash was sure the boat would sink as an unexpected Gyrados rose from the water and hit the boat.

One heavy Gyrados crashed onto the deck attempting to eat the trainers. The jarring motion made Psyduck lose his concentration. Psyduck, Ash, Pikachu and Pidgeotto felt the screams of terror the passengers echo in their heads.

Ash stumbled and Pikachu faltered. In the distance above the waves Ash could hear Pidgeotto screech. Ash stomped his foot. With a mighty roar, Ash focused on the job. Each of his pokemon roared cries in kind to keep the fight going to block out the fear the passengers felt. Finally Psyduck recuperated and the group returned to fighting with renewed vigor.

That worked for a time.

But Ash could feel his pokemon tire. Pikachu was charging slower than he had moments before. Psyduck was slower to alert him of warnings. A corner of the ship was hit with a beam of energy. Ash could not identify what the Gyrados emitted that cracked against the ship. Ash and Psyduck pushed that one away. Ash gave Psyduck the will power, and Psyduck responded to that will power with his own psychic powers.

One Gyrados turned to the boat and thrashed at the nearest trainer. The trainer was thrown nearly off the ship but he released a grass pokemon that saved him with two long powerful vines. The other defenders were trying to deter the Gyrados with their concentrated fire but it was enraged. Energy began to build in its mouth for a hyper beam nearly fired point blank onto the deck.

'Psyduck.'

Psyduck felt his mind link with Ash's. Ash and Psyduck both made a fist in one hand and threw a punch in the air at Gyrados. Psyduck entered the Gyrados' mind at the same time. Psyduck forced the pokemon to close its mouth as it was about to launch the attack causing the explosion to prematurely go off. The telekinesis wave hit Gyrados shortly after. The smoke of the explosion cleared as the attack hit Gyrados in the face. The water pokemon slowly sank back into the sea in retreat from the boat.

The trainers began to cheer. Ash looked on as more pokemon began to spread away from the pack to have their own individual battles. Ash felt Pikachu was the first to tire. Small wonder with the amount of electricity. Ash almost regretted sending energy to Brook's Raichu, but ignored the feeling. RaiRai and Brooks were good fighting companions the the two had supported them as long as they could.

'Pikachu pull back behind us. Rest up.' Pikachu shook his head. He couldn't afford to stop. Ash silently agreed. In the corner of his eye he only saw two other trainers and three sailors with water pokemon attempting to defend the ship.

A short rest would not help Pikachu. Ash's pokemon was just running out of electricity. It was just that simple. There would be no way Pikachu could just sit and recover his electricity back. Pikachu must have understood it as well.

'Pikapi!' Ash looked at his pokemon. Ash swallowed the lump in his throat as Pikachu adopted that stance again.

'Pikachu, those are hyper beams. They can kill you.' Pikachu started chittering back and snarling at his trainer. Ash looked at his pokemon for a moment unsure what to say. Finally, couldn't hold it in, he belt out a laugh. In the middle of a fight, surrounded by Gyrados, Pikachu was still giving him attitude.

'You are spoiled pikachu. Psyduck. Can you redirect a hyper beam?' Psyduck quacked at him for a second before loosing amnesia completely. He had not been paying attention to the conversation and started squawking at his trainer as to ask if Ash was crazy.

Ash laughed again this time making a few trainers look at them briefly. A few of the olders ones thought he was cracking under the pressure. 'You two are the most irreverent, selfish... Amazing pokemon I have ever known. Psyduck, Amnesia. Reflect the Hyperbeam as many times as you can. Pikachu you are getting just one shot.'

Ash looked up to the sky and whistled long and loud. Pidgeotto looked over to his trainer. Ash reached his hands out and gripped them into fists before he slammed them to his chest. Pidgeotto understood the command. With a slight hesitation Pidgeotto dove bombed at a Gyrados a fair distance away. The sea pokemon snarled and turned to charge a Hyperbeam. Pidgeotto flew straight for the S.S. Anne. Straight at Ash. Ash nodded and smiled at him.

'Good job Pidgeotto. Just the way I wanted it. Pikachu, I will not let you absorb multiple shots of those, just one big one to recharge and that's it.'

Ash shouted over his shoulder. 'Clear the Deck! We are doing something desperate!' Ash backed up twenty feet, pulling Psyduck's floating body with him.

'Do it Psyduck.'

The single phalanx of energy that was shot to the deck of the Anne was bounced and reflect it in a maze of light before redirecting it to Pikachu.

Pikachu let the light bounce around him and inhaled. He raised his tail and looked at the on coming light.

Energy is Energy.

Pikachu felt his body enveloped in the heaviest amount of energy he ever felt.

Larger than the solar beam in Celadon.

More powerful than the currents he used against the Onix in Pewter.

But..

Not as scary as the first time he took a hit to try and absorb energy from Dewgong. It was nothing compared to the thought of Ash getting hurt. It was not as big as the lightning in Pallet. Pikachu did not know how he could forget the power of the lightning in Pallet. But this was nothing compared to protecting Ash from that one bolt of nature.

'PIKACHU!' Pikachu cried triumphantly. It's voice began to distort from the electricity. Its fur spiked and snapped. Pikachu could only manage to stand in one place, energy curved around him leaving scorch marks that fanned along the deck.

Ash walked away from the group that had hid with him behind several boxes. Ash stood next to his pokemon. 'Pikachu start charging.'

'PIKAPIKA!' Pikachu's fur moved along with the currents of electricity that cycled through the mouse's body.

Pikachu chattered back at him. His voice distorted by the electricity.

'Thunder.'

Pikachu raised his tail and electricity left his body and flew into the air. Clouds began to form and several bolts of lightening struck down a small group of Gyrados. Their body smoked from the impact. They remained floating. Ash nodded in approval, alive but stunned.

'Pikachu Charge.'

The other trainers renewed their efforts encouraged by the display.

'Thunder.' Called Ash again.

'Pikachu, charge.'

Ash started to do what he always did. He changed the battle field to work for him. He sent messengers out to the other boats asking for other trainers to push their Gyrados in range of Pikachu. Ash let Psyduck stop defending. Instead Ash had Pysduck manipulate the minds of the Gyrados to draw them away from the boats and infight again among them selves. Psyduck had little problems manipulating other pokemon's mind, it was just like they had trained.

Ash looked into the deep night water. He did not now how long Pikachu kept going but the energy from the hyper beam was slowly fading. Pikachu had been regulated to the normal thunder bolts at a few stray Gyrados. Many of the pokemon had finally calmed and got back to swimming at the mouth of the bay.

Pidgeotto landed behind them with another group of trainers. He noticed the neon glow stick had long since faded. 'Good job Pidgeotto. Are there any more reinforcements coming to the Anne?'

'No, we are it.' Responded a young man. He gave Ash an appraised look. Pikachu had developed quite a few scorch marks around him during the fight. The Gyrados were beginning to move away from all of the boats but were still not dispersing.

'Alright then. Pidgeotto rest up I am sure we'll need you later. Are you guys able to cover for a few minutes while we rest?' Ash asked the new arrivals.

Ash looked around and realized he was the only one that was still there from the original group when he landed. It looked like the defenders had swapped out with others.

When did that happen?

'Sure Ash.' Announced one of the older men. The blonde man had a buzz cut. He craned his muscled neck to look at the area. A Raichu stood calmly at his side. 'Get below and get some food and water. You have been out here for a few hours.'

Ash looked at him in surprise. He had no idea it had been that long. 'Thank you.'

'Lieutenant Surge. It's good to see promising young trainers like your self helping.' Ash nodded to the older man realizing only now that Lieutenant Surge was some kind of officer of the Kanto government.

'That's enough Pikachu.' Pikachu rested for a moment and gave 'chaa!' in exhaustion. Ash looked over to Psyduck who floated behind him.

*snap*

Ash snapped his fingers and Psyduck lowered himself to the ground and panted heavily. Ash did not know who was more tired of his three pokemon. 'Let's get inside guys.' Ash recalled his pokemon and started walking inside. Inside the hallway were a few benches and food provided by the kitchen for the defenders. Ash mindlessly grabbed some nuts and water. He released his pokemon to feed and water the group. Slowly they all dozed minutes after eating a quick snack.

-o-

'So that was Ash Ketchum.' Surge said while looking at the lull in the Gyrados swarm.

'It's little wonder he got so far with only so few pokemon if they are all like that.' Said an old man who stood behind him. 'It will be interesting. I look forward to what he shows me when he reaches my island for his badge.'

Surge chuckled. 'The world is big Blaine. If he sticks to just pokemon competitions he is soon going to find him self bored. Sabrina said the kids' hat is fitting. I have to agree. I will be surprised if someone doesn't recruit him into the league by the end of the year. Talent like that shouldn't be wasted.'

-o-

Ash felt the boat shift slightly. He quickly grabbed his pokedex from his pocket and saw it was just past two in the morning. Ash walked outside to the deck and found Surge alone watching the water.

'Lieutenant Surge.' Ash greeted.

'Trainer Ash.' Surge looked at his watch. 'You have only been in there for twenty minutes, you already spoiling to go back to work?'

Ash shook his head but looked to the blackness of the water with concern. 'They finally stopped fighting?' Ash saw just a dark mass of a shape that was likely the swarm of sleeping Gyrados floating on the surface.

'Yeah they finally stopped. Most of them burned through their rage and just passed out. But we are waiting for them to move on their own. We don't want to try and physically move them in case they decide they want to try and take the fight inland.'

Ash knelt down and looked at the black water. 'How did so many congregate so quickly? I would have thought we would have been able to track such a large frenzy of Gyrados.'

Surge gave a grunt. 'Not when they mass evolve.'

'Mass Evolve?'

'It's what we think happened. A school of magikarp were swimming through the harbor and one suddenly evolved into a Gyrados. When that happens it usually tries to eat its bothers and sisters. And that starts of chain reaction of them all evolving at once to defend themselves. I've seen it happen a few times but never so close to a city. The researchers are going nuts over it.'

Ash gave a weary chuckle. 'I will have to ask Professor Oak when ever I run into him again.'

Surge smiled. 'That's right! You are from Pallet.' Surge looked at the boy and saw the time. 'Get some rest Ash. We do have cabins down stairs if you want to take advantage of them. We have been transporting civilians off the ships ever since the Gyrados fell asleep. We are only using small boats to not try and wake the Gyrados. So the move is slow but it did open up a few rooms open for us. I'll wake you in a few hours for a turn at the watch.'

Ash nodded. 'Thank you Sir.'

-o-

Ash woke up tired but alert. He checked his pokemon to see if any of them were hurt. They all just sleepily batted him away. Ash smiled at his team and left them to sleep. Ash drank some water before making his way up to the top deck again. There were no shouts and the water looked calm except for the mass of Gyrados at the mouth of the bay. They were still sleeping. Ash saw the slivers of sunlight turning the dark night sky a slight orange hue to the east.

Ash stretched. He saw an older bald man with a white mustache standing alert. Ash walked up to them. 'I take it that allowing me to sleep through the night was a sign of good news?' Ash put on his league hat and took a cup of hot coffee that was offered by the old man.

'Yes. They did not stir thanks to Koga's quick action. He was able to send a fleet of venomoths to fly over and silently spread sleeping powder over the group. We are trying to keep them sedated. The current and tides should do the rest for us and pull them all out to open ocean. Fates willing we won't have to fight them again.'

Ash smiled. 'I don't think I have seen anything as ferocious as an enraged Gyrados.'

The old man laughed. 'Ain't that the truth. Excuse me, my name is Blaine. I am the Cinnabar Island Gym leader. I arrived with Lieutenant Surge last night. I didn't want to introduce my self with you being so tired.'

Ash felt self conscious. 'Was it that obvious? I knew my pokemon were way more tired than I was.'

Blaine smiled and sipped his coffee. 'Ash just because your pokemon worked a lot does not mean you did not either. It takes a lot of concentration to coordinate three pokemon. Especially for how long you did it for. You had been pushing back the gyrados for over five hours last night.'

Ash looked at him. He could not remember it ever being that long. Blaine nodded in understanding. 'Emergency's do that to a person Ash. You will loose your self trying to keep things together. While you may not have noticed it last night, there was an hour or two when it was just you. Everyone else on your ship was exhausted. Your back up only lasted for a few hours but you were here with your pokemon protecting and guiding anyone who would follow them. It's more than praise worthy. It was heroic.'

'Sir,'

Blaine waved off anything he was going to say. 'Let me finish Ash. This display of skill won't go unnoticed. You have three gym leaders here who all watched you perform.'

Ash looked at him surprised. Blaine shook his head at the boy. 'Lieutenant Surge is the Vermillion Gym leader, Koga is the Fuchsia City Gym Leader, and you have me. All three of us are veterans of the war Ash. What you did out there is not so much different than what we had to do during the war. Those experiences will change you. Just be aware of it when it does. It's normal. And it shows that you are human. Remember that feeling Ash. Soon you will start to wonder about it. And the feeling won't always feel good.'

Ash was not sure what to say to the gym leader. He had no idea why Blaine was telling him this. Blaine stood up and finished his coffee. 'You are undeniably a responsible adult Ash. But if you are ever given a choice to fulfill a duty, or continue to do what you want,' Blaine put on his hat and grabbed his cane. 'It is alright to make selfish choices.' Blaine walked away. Lieutenant Surge was waiting for him at the door to the deck above Ash.

Ash watched him go unsure what to think. He would definitely think about it. Ash felt sweat roll down his neck. Maybe he will ask Misty her thoughts on what Blaine said... after he tells her how he spent his last night before reaching Vermillion. Ash looked over to Lieutenant Surge's home town. He briefly wondered why he was in such a rush to get to Vermillion City.

-o-

Ash and the other trainers watched as the tide fell. The tide slowly moved the group of sleeping Gyrados out into open ocean.

'Good news!' Ash turned to the sailor who spoke to the group earlier.

'The tug boats have finally been authorized to come out to get us!' Ash smiled at the cheers the other trainers gave. Ash basked in the relief everyone felt. He wanted to cheer with the rest of the trainers. It was a victory cry but he held back. He had no more energy for it. He screamed and shouted enough last night. Psyduck sat next to him eating the treat provided by the ship's crew. Ash simply ate one of his energy bars. Pikachu and pidgeotto slept next to each other. They were both leaning on a create that the crew carried the food that fed the defenders.

Ash spotted the bottle of ketchup Pikachu had been hiding and very likely gorged on when Ash wasn't paying attention. For once Ash didn't mind Pikachu eating his favorite treat. They had all earned it. Ash felt that last night was the longest night of his life.

Ash stood up and looked around for another bottle of water. Then he noticed it again. Earlier that morning it started with only one or two sailors, but the more people were around, the more he saw each one make eye contact with him. Some would nod in respect other gave him a look of appreciation. Ash smiled at them politely. Finally, Ash listened to some of the conversation of what he did.

Ash realized he did it again. He charged into a situation and did what he could do. But he never looked to see what the others were doing. He had no idea that he had taken over for a pair of sisters who were fighting a loosing battle against four Gyrados. Ash had no idea that the S.S. Leslie was about to be over run until Pikachu was able to take out half of the offending pokemon, allowing the group to rally back. He only vaguely remembered yelling at one trainer that stood near him during the defense. He only remembered barking something to the older teenager to stop defending and get inside or he would get himself and his pokemon killed from their exhaustion. Ash had no idea he had ordered his back up away effectively defending the ship by himself for nearly an hour.

Ash understood Pidgeotto was important during the emergency. But he did not realize that Pidgeotto flying in the air with that glow stick effectively allowed trainers to move around the ships to even out the defense. Apparently the S.S. Marie had too many defenders. The Leslie had too few, and the defenders on the Anne were too weary and tired to continue. He did not know Surge had defended the Leslie for two hours single handed before he had to stop and help coordinate the defense. Ash had no idea Blaine was not there to defend the ships, but to be there if the Gyrados made it to land. If their defense failed.

Ash shuddered at the possibility. So many people would have died on the ships before Blaine could have done anything.

Ash felt tired but content to know that he did a good job. He had finished his energy bar and just stayed kneeling next to his Psyduck who fell back asleep just as full as the rest of his team. Ash patted his Psyducks' head. 'You all did amazing work today. I am really proud of you all.' Ash felt the mental link from Psyduck and two more from his other pokemon. Each was as content and happy as the last. Ash continued to pet Psyduck while watching the Gyrados slowly drift out to sea.

A/N:

One more out! Sending this one a little earlier than I planned. Thank you everyone for the reviews. I am loving the feedback about what People are asking about. As for Ash and his pokemon I have got his team set. But it is very different than what people will likely expect. There is a reason for it down the road.


	6. Chapter 6: 10-Badge

Chapter 6

Ash smiled and waved back at a group of trainers who sat in the corner. While he liked chatting with trainers pretty much about anything. This group of girls seemed way more interested in giggling about topics Ash had no experience in. Ash walked out to the lower deck of the ship. The tug boats were being prepped to pull the ship to the docks now that the Gyrados have been cleared out of the harbor. It was finally safe enough for other ships to come out to help the stranded cruise liners.

Ash released his pidgeotto and the two joined Pikachu and Psyduck next to the pool. 'I found out what our next gym is like.' Ash looked at pikachu. 'Its an electric gym.' Pikachu perked up at that. 'So heres the question. Pidgeotto, do you feel like your up to fighting electric pokemon yet?'

The group looked to the bird. Pidgeotto ruffled his feathers and looked at his wings. It looked unsure of itself. Ash nodded. 'I think we will still go with you unless you say no. I want you all to try and fight against your weakest match up. Sorry Psyduck. We just couldn't make it happen for you. I really wanted you fight a good group of grass pokemon.'

Ash walked up to his bird and ran his hand through Pidgeotto's plumage. 'You have come a long way Pidgeotto. You think and move better than you have when we first started. You have enough experience fighting Pikachu to know what to expect.'

Pidgeotto finally agreed to try. Ash smiled and hugged the bird. 'Good. When we get to town we will rest up today to make sure we are a hundred percent. Then we will challenge Lieutenant Surge.'

-o-

Ash got off the ship that afternoon. The pokemon center was a welcome sight. None of his pokemon even resisted the idea of being sent into their pokeballs to recover. Ash showered with hot water for the first time in weeks. He stood in the water until the heated water ran out.

Ash felt completely alert and relaxed. He was disappointed he would not see the rest of the route to Vermillion, but cutting his trip in half was a welcome diversion. Ash looked at the harness that he had wore the entire night. He never did have the chance to take it off. Ash pulled open his pokedex and went through the list of trainers his pokedex recognized.

It was a handy feature. Ash never knew there was a way to see who you walked pass until just a few short days ago. Each pokedex would recognize others they had passed by. The pokedex clicked through the list until Ash finally found a profile of the teen with the goggles. Ash could not find a name or pokemon roster. The information was locked behind a wall of security only accessible to Pokemon League personal. But Ash did get a pokemon user ID.

Too bad he could not send the other trainer a message. That was locked behind the wall too. Ash walked out of his room and down to the main desk. Nurse Joy usually had a good idea when ever he asked for help.

The nurse waved at him lazily. She looked bored.

'Hello Nurse Joy, I wanted to know if you had way to contact a league trainer. I never did give him back his equipment.'

Nurse joy looked at the number and gave an ah of understanding. 'You were one of the kids drafted weren't you?'

Ash nodded. She smiled at him. 'How long have you been a trainer Ash?'

Ash counted in the months in his head. ' Just maybe four months. I don't really know what day it is actually.'

Nurse Joy giggled. 'That is fairly common for new trainers Ash. On your pokedex go back to your main screen. You'll see a silver button on the screen.'

Ash did as he was told and did find the button. Ash looked up to her.

'It means you are technically still drafted. Click on it and find that trainer again. You could probably still contact them.'

Ash found he could only send the teen a message. 'Nurse Joy would it be ok for me to leave his flying gear here so he can come and pick it up on his own time?'

Nurse Joy nodded. Ash sent out the message and left the gear with her. Ash found him self for the next few hours looking through the Pokemon League database. He wasn't going to turn down the chance to read whats going on with the rest of the League.

The authorization lasted until five in the evening. He was promptly disconnected and the Silver button was off his main screen. Ash gave a moan in disappointment and looked up. He forgot he was still sitting in the lobby of the pokemon center. Several trainers looked at him strangely. The line of trainers was for the travelers who have not rested their pokemon with Nurse Joy for the night.

Ash put away his pokedex.

-o-

'That's him.' A teen with black hair nodded to the direction of Ash.

A few of the other trainers turned and craned their neck to see the ten year old. 'THAT'S Ash?' An older boy asked.

'Yeah. His pikachu was amazing. He just sucked in a Hyper Beam and started going to town on those Gyrados.'

A girl nodded eagerly. 'He just barely shouted the warning quick enough. I am pretty sure we would have all been fried if he had not given the warning.'

Ash walked across the mess hall blissfully unaware of the looks that followed him. One of the eldest boys thought darkly, 'We were lucky we had him there last night. He kept the defenses going longer than we should have. His pidgeotto guided my fearow and a few other trainers to get a nurse from the Leslie onto the Anne. It saved a poor kid's life who got hit from falling debris when the ship rocked.'

'Did you see his rankings?' Asked a younger teen. He had is pokedex opened and saw the number of badges.

'That few?'

'He only has three pokemon.' Observed a girl. The girl held her pokeball tight. She was lucky that Ash had saved her jolteon.

'Melody, did you go apologize to him?'

Melody frantically shook her head. 'What do I say to him? Sorry for accusing you of trying to kill my pokemon?'

The group flinched at that.

Melody deflated at the idea of approaching him. 'Ash didn't even register I was angry last night. He just looked at me like I was an idiot and told me to go away.'

'Then he defended the ship by himself. Talk about a confidence killer.' Melody glared at her friend Jana. The blonde girl just smiled back at Melody.

'Jana, Ko, you didn't _see_ him. He was different from the other defenders.'

A young teenager said something that stopped them. 'He reminded me of the gym leaders last night.'

The trainers paused and turned to him. The boy looked up at them. 'I am serious. I was one of the guys that had flying pokemon. I was moving back and forth between the ships. Ash barked as many orders as Lieutenant Surge.' The boy thought about it again before adding. 'But Ash was just barking them mostly to his pokemon.'

'He's walking away, I'll be right back Jana.' Melody got up to try and speak to the kid that held his ground where she could not.

-o-

Ash decided to eat a quick dinner at the center because the League paid for it. Ash entered the mess hall and saw a few of the trainers from last night. They all still looked tired but they all waved to each other. Ash saw a few groups form from the trainers who fought last night. Ash felt a pang in his chest. He did not mind coming out of the experience with no new friends, but he was not sure how he didn't. They all had fought side by side. Were those groups friends already? But Ash made a quick friend in Brook. The old man was very kind and the two had talked for a bit on the ship about their pokemon.

Maybe it was something else he was not seeing. In fact he made a respectable list of people who he was at least friendly with. half way through the mess hall Ash finally found the pattern of friendly companions. They were almost entirely adults. Ash filed that thought away for later.

Ash walked by another group of trainers completely oblivious to their looks. Ash looked at the buffet and found there was an assortment of food and grabbed a few things at random. He found an open seat between a few trainers. One was even as young as he was. He smiled and said hello but they all seemed unsure how to interact with him. Ash repressed a sigh before eating silently.

Ash thought about what he still wanted to do tonight. He would call his mom and Misty. He owed his mom for not contacting him for a few weeks. Granted he was not expecting to come into a town for another two. After the calls maybe then it would not be too early to go to bed. He finished his rice balls and sucked on the pickled plum sauce on his finger.

Ash started walking out of the hall when he felt someone walk up behind him. Ash stopped himself abruptly. He recognized that mass of auburn hair. It was the girl who had the jolteon. She looked unsure about talking to him but asked, 'Do you have a moment Ash?'

Ash nodded his head for her to follow. The older girl wordlessly followed him. The pokemon center was rather full with so many trainers and drafted defenders resting there. It took him a moment to find an empty section of a hall way. He was happy he found any place where they could talk in relative privacy.

Ash looked at her and realized again he did not know a girls name. 'I am sorry I never did get your name miss.'

'Melody. My name is Melody. Ash, I wanted to apologize for last night. You saved my Jolteon. I did not even know electric pokemon could do that.' Melody looked down and mumbled the last part.

Ash smiled at the girl. 'Don't worry about it Melody. You were both tired. And it was a very stressful night. We were very lucky.'

Melody nodded sadly. 'I heard there was a pokemon who didn't make it on the Leslie.'

Ash nodded. He was sadden by the news as well. An Electrode self destructed to protect its trainer and the Leslie. It was too weak and did not have the energy to reform after the explosion. An electabuzz also lost an arm trying to perform a thunder punch aboard that ship. Of the three ships, the Leslie came out of it all the worst.

'Thank you for the apology Melody. I would like to say I apologize too.'

Melody looked at him confused. Ash smiled, 'I thought you were one of the passengers trying to stick it out. But you were part of the first wave of the draft weren't you?'

Melody blushed. 'Yeah. I was in Vermillion when the call went out. Lieutenant Surge called our group personally to go aid the ship. My group was one of the first groups to arrive. My and my friends went to a different ship. When we could not handle the defense, they started looking for more. I don't know when we were recruited but it was still day light when we got on the boat.'

Ash smiled in understanding.

'Good luck with your trainers journey.' Ash patted her on the shoulder and walked away. Melody saw him begin to walk away with all the confidence he carried the night before.

'Ash?'

Ash turned back.

'Do- If you have not done your gym battle with Lieutenant Surge, do you think I can watch it?'

Ash smiled. 'Sure I am going to go spend the day at his gym tomorrow if it is open. I was told to go watch a few gym battles myself.'

Melody smiled before bowing. 'Thank you Ash. If there are gym battles tomorrow, I look forward to seeing yours.'

Ash waved a hand at her before walking away.

Ash kept the faint smile on his face all the way to the conference room. He was able to get a private room to talk to his mom. She was happy for the call. But she could tell he was holding something back. He did say he was in Vermillion, but she either did not hear of the stranded ships, or did not make the connection. Ash did not have the heart to tell her.

As Ash dialed Misty he had not realized how much he was thankful for a private room. Usually trainers just get a booth for calls and you could hear what others were saying. He didn't want anyone to hear what he was told by Blaine.

'Ash! You are weeks early! How was the trip? Did you just move none stop through route one-o-one?'

Ash grinned back at Misty. Most of his exhaustion was gone in the face of her enthusiasm. 'I've missed you too Misty. I'm in Vermillion now. I am surprised to be here as much as you are.'

Misty wilted already knowing what likely happened. 'You were drafted, weren't you? Are you alright Ash? How are Pikachu and Psyduck?'

'We are fine. We even got a new partner with a pidgeotto. All three of them performed amazingly. None of us were hurt. Actually come to think of it I never did mention pidgeotto last call did I?'

Misty sighed both in exasperation and in relief and just looked at him to make sure he was ok. Finally, 'That's great to hear Ash. Thanks for the little statue from Saffron. Its cute. I have it sitting in my room. Have you challenged Surge yet?'

Ash smiled but shook his head no. 'He was there defending the ships with us.' Ash told her how he was drafted and the flight on top of a very fast Pidgeot. Misty laughed at his reaction. She had been on a flying pokemon a few times for emergency's and it was not a good feeling. Flying on a speeding Pidgeot was like hanging by the seat of your pants on a pillow of down feathers. Ash had to laugh at the image. It was an apt description.

'I met Blaine too.' Ash finally said. He seemed to loose some of his energy.

'What did Blaine say?' Misty looked at her friend and saw the signs of trying to understand something. He had the same look when she talked to him about Erika.

'He said its OK to be selfish. That I don't have to do anything just because I feel as if its my duty.'

Misty humm'ed at that. But really she already knew what Blaine was hinting at. 'Ash what do you plan on doing after the conference? Regardless of how far you get. What is the next step for you?'

Ash looked at her not sure how to answer that. He had not given any thought other than to try and make it to be qualified. His lack of answer seemed to give Misty all the information she needed.

'Ash. You already have enough things going on right now. But if you had a gym leader say that to you. Then it means you impressed enough people that they are thinking about your future for you. You already know I think you will go far. It just is a matter how far and how soon. I think Blaine is reminding you that if someone offers you some kind of work. It is ok to say no and do what you want to do.'

Ash nodded. He had met other trainers when he was a kid who came back to Pallet Town. After a few years those trainers had retired from pokemon training all together. You can't be a trainer forever, but you that doesn't mean trainers don't try. Ash could not think of what he would do after the conference. 'I think I want to keep doing this. At least for now.'

Misty smiled satisfied he actually gave an answer. 'Then maybe you can travel the world. Kanto is just one region.' Ash smiled at that.

'Thanks Misty.'

Misty gave him a mischievous look. 'So tell me about what you plan on getting me from Vermillion.' Ash laughed and started telling her of the few things he saw in town.

-o-

Ash woke up the next morning well rested. He let his pokemon sit in their balls for nearly twenty hours with Nurse Joy. Ash walked outside and went to the park with a box of food. They all worked hard and while they are well kept when in the pokemon center, he still wasn't convinced sending them nourishment through the pokeballs was as healthy as actually eating.

'Morning guys!' Ash released Pikachu. Pikachu yawned and stretched running around the park. Pidgeotto stretched its wings but went to perch on a park chair to look look around his new surroundings. When Ash released Psyduck, Psyduck just dozed, raised its head sleepily. He tried to stay awake and nearly fell back asleep before yawning. Psyduck fell back on his back and quacked.

'I got food for you Psyduck.' Psyduck sighed. He rolled over and got up to see what was in the box. All three pokemon cheered. It wasn't just pokeblocks. The treats were actual berries and pastries. They all dug in. Ash smiled at them and pulled out a energy bar for himself. The food was expensive, but it was worth it. The team earned it.

Between bites, Ash pulled out water for the group. 'We are going to relax for most of the day. Pidgeotto may fight against Surge, but you guys are standing on the side lines to watch. Win or loose. Pidgeotto needs the experience.' The group chattered among themselves. Ash looked around and saw it was still morning. Most people at the park were actual kids not trainers. Ash took that as a sign that the gym was open. If Surge had the gym close for the past few days because of the stranded boats, then they may actually have a back up of challengers.

'Alright guys lets go.' Ash recalled them all. He only paused half way to the gym when he realized that none of his pokemon complained. Pikachu and Psyduck must have still been tired. Ash would worry more about Pidgeotto, but any reservations Pidgeotto had was more about the fact it was an electric gym rather than it being tired.

Ash was happy to see that there were a few trainers waiting to get inside. He looked at the array of trainers. A few were still young but Ash could tell they were not as young as he was. Two of the trainers were older kids he recognized who came to defend the Anne. Of the group only two actually recognized him. Ash smiled at them and they nodded in respect.

'Ash!' Ash turned and waved at Melody. She walked ahead of her friends. Ash wondered about that. He had seen a few groups travel together, but he had always wondered how they ended up doing so. Maybe it was just something that happened when trainers started setting out from the same spot.

'Good morning Melody. Who are you friends?'

Melody turned and gestured to her two companions. 'This is Jana and Ko. We've been traveling together for a while now.' Ash recognized them from the ship but did not realize they had known each other prior to the draft.

'Hello Jana, Ko. My name is Ash.' The teens exchanged pleasantries while they waited for the doors to open. Ash apparently missed an announcement on Nurse Joy's office board saying the gym would open at noon and would only accept the first five challengers. Ash was surprised to hear that Lieutenant Surge was only going to be taking challengers who have six badges or higher.

'Whats the limit for?' Ash wondered.

Jana actually had an answer to that. 'I asked Nurse Joy. Usually the more badges the trainer has, the longer the matches. I think Surge wants to get the long fights out of the way.'

Ash thought back to his matches. But then he ran into the issue that he has no idea how long other trainers take for their matches. He had no idea what other trainers did in their battles.

The doors open to the cheers of the trainers. Most trainers had stayed even if they did not meet the criteria. Some trainers stayed to watch their future opponent. Others filed in to watch some gym battles. Ash released his pokemon and they each took seats in the bleachers behind him. Ash sat next to Melody and her friends. Ash saw a bit of curiosity from the group. They had never released their pokemon to watch a gym battle. 'My team and I have never sat in on other trainers battles. When we fight the place is usually empty baring a few spotters as an audience.'

The group ah'ed at that. Ash was soon given the lecture that by observing other trainers in action, other challengers could see what the Gym leader does in his fights. They could then plan on how to counter the gym leaders strategies. A few common ways was to train up other pokemon specific for that gym. Other would evolve their pokemon. And the rare trainer would leave and come back for a different challenge after getting other badges. Ash tilted his head and looked at his team. They were listening but they seemed to be of the same mind. How can you grow with out challenging your self to try and face failure?

Ash watched a teen aged girl release a Primeape. Ash clicked his pokedex quickly before closing it. He would read up on it later. Ash thought aloud. 'A Primeape versus a Voltorb.'

'It's a good match up for the girl.' Jana said while looking at the voltorb.

'Ramp! Use karate chop!' The Primeape moved into a stance and held it for a moment. Once voltorb was in range, Primeape started running towards her opponent. Ash watched on passively. He was already seeing things he would do very differently from this challenger. The moved missed. Voltorb waited until Surge ordered him to throw a thunder shock at the ape pokemon.

The Primeape was quick to dodge and counter hit the voltorb with another karate chop. The voltorb allowed it self to roll a distance before stopping.

'Thunder bolt.' Surge called. Primeape dodged the attack and stared down the voltorb waiting for instructions.

Finally Ash asked, 'So these matches are usually long?'

'Yeah!' Melody said excitedly. 'That Primeape is really good at dodging those strikes. It's really fast. It's a pity Primeape can't get close to attack though. Do you think it has any long range attacks?'

Ash glanced to Melody and her group. He looked at the other group of trainers reactions to the fight. They each pointed out things they saw and what they thought would not work. The girl in the battle called the Primeape to use focus. Primeape stood still and focused on building energy. Ash saw the girl was nervous. She hand was on her belt clip as if to switch out her pokemon. 'Low kick Primeape!' The Primeape charged forward and dove into a low kick that hit the voltorb. The angle was more luck than skill that hit just right to make the voltorb bounce off the ground and it rolled to a stop.

'Voltorb is unable to battle.'

Surge smiled in approval. 'Good job rallying your pokemon, go Pikachu.' A yellow mouse popped out of its pokeball. Just like Surge, Ash noticed that the pikachu watched and waited.

'Good job Primeape,' The girl recalled her pokemon and threw out another pokeball. 'Go diglett!'

Ash found he was looking at Surge more often than the actual battle. Surge never felt concerned. He waited for the challenger to attack and then pushed back. Then it hit him. Surge was giving a lesson in fighting an electric pokemon. Ash smiled and took off his hat. He turned back to his pokemon who had been watching. They were confused on how a fight can move so slow. Psyduck caught his eye and Ash flashed an image of him training pikachu and thought of Primeape. The image was shared with everyone in the group and they all started watching more carefully.

'Hey Melody, sorry I wasn't paying attention. How many pokemon is Surge using?'

'Three. The girl down there has six. It looks like she won't have to use them all now that Diglet is out there. Surge is on his last pokemon.' Ash looked down surprised that the second round was fast. The third pokemon turned out to be a magnemite.

Ash was beginning to understand. Misty and Gary both said he needed to watch other trainers gym battles. He understood intellectually that he did little better in the gym battles than others. But it was another thing to see how completely different the gym battles were. The gym battles took on a whole different meaning when watching Surge pick through a challenger.

Misty said that she was embarrassed she picked dewgong to defend against an electric type that could take down rock pokemon. Ash watched how these trainers tried their best to exploit the natural weakness of the gym leader's pokemon to get an edge. It was a fundamental mindset that you had to have had before even starting your pokemon journey.

The matches continued for a few hours. Surge had a lot of pokemon to fight so many battles in a single day. Each challenger was given a full three set. Only one trainer lost. They had exhausted all six of their pokemon. But even he got a badge after talking to Surge. Ash refused to participate in the conversation but he nodded politely. He was afraid if he said anything he may alienate himself.

'That's too bad! He was so close!' Ash heard from another group of trainers who were talking. Ash refused to react at all.

How was that close? Surge's Magneton clean swept four of the challengers pokemon. The trainer just stood there trying to find a way to use one method to beat his opponent with several different pokemon.

All of these battles were simple. There was no thought put into any moves. And the fights were so frustratingly slow. The pokemon were ready to listen but the trainers were so slow to respond to their commands. Have none of the trainers allowed their pokemon to think for them selves? Did they have to wait for simple commands like dodge and defend them selves?

Ash exhaled the frustration. He felt Psyduck begin to absorb Ash's agitated mind set. It was making all of his pokemon uncomfortable.

'That is all of the gym challengers I will take above six badges. Ash Ketchum are you present?' Surge called into the stands.

Ash stood. 'Looks like I'm up. Sorry I was so quiet Melody. I did not want to say something that I would regret later. You guys are really nice.' Ash looked at the group but Melody understood. Melody's friends were not there when Ash fought. They may have thought he would be patronizing them.

'Just show us trainers how it is done Ash.' Melody said with a wink.

Ash turned back to his pokemon who were watching. 'You all stay put. It's just me and pidgeotto today.' Ash reached out his arm and Pidgeotto took it and lifted Ash to the gym competitors' box.

Ash looked to the stands where his pokemon were. He saw Melody lean forward to watch. It was nice to see someone he knew so eager to watch his fight. Ash was thankful for the gesture she gave last night. While it may have felt like an apology to her. He felt that he could make friends. He just needed to learn how to talk to them.

'Those were some interesting matches Lieutenant.' Ash looked back to the gym leader and stretched his back. The bleachers did not feel comfortable after a few hours.

Surge laughed and slapped his knee. 'We are on a different playing field Ash. But yes they are definitely not you. If you saw the potential that I see in them, then maybe you would be more charitable. Our fight is going to be nothing like theirs.'

Surge looked up at the audience but his voice only carried to Ash. 'A lot of people misunderstand what a ten badge battle means. Trainers come to the gyms to learn how to fight different types of pokemon. They come to learn how to defend themselves and others from threats of that type. A ten badge battle isn't to teach a trainer anything.'

Surge gave Ash a hard look. 'A ten badge battle is to prove you can handle a real threat.'

Surge looked at the Pidgeotto. 'You bringing just the one pokemon?'

'Yes sir. My pokemon need to learn how to handle their weaknesses. If we loose, that means we learned what we need to focus on before trying again.' Pidgeotto released Ash's hand. It lifted itself into the air and hovered while flapping its wings behind and above Ash.

'How about you? I am sure if you are using the same pokemon for the defense in a gym battle. They may be as tired as mine.'

Surge laughed. 'That's no excuse. If we said that, both of us would have stopped defending those ships long before we actually did. And where would we be now?'

Ash smiled with him. This was the kind of camaraderie he felt he was missing on the ship. 'You're right about that one. We are ready when you are.'

'Very well Ash, this will be a two versus one match. No substitutes for either sides. Just a warning Ash. I'm not holding back. Let me show you a few of my old war buddies. Begin!' Surge released a magneton that slowly hovered in the air. Its magnets were dented. One section of it was off color, most likely from a very intense source of heat.

'Thank you Lieutenant. Pidgeotto we got a ceiling, take advantage of it. Whirlwind.'

Pidgeotto flew up to the ceiling. It started flapping its wings to build an air current that began to form into a whirlwind high against the ceiling. Dust picked up and started flying into the air on the gym below obscuring Magneton's view. Pidgeotto flew around the whirlwind to increase its momentum. After a second where the wind would carry him as fast as he could in open sky, Pidgeotto allowed itself to be sucked into the whirlwind before being shot out towards Magneton.

'Magneton, Thunder the ceiling.' Magneton released a ray of lightning that fanned out to search for its target. The room was filled with light for several seconds before it stopped. Dust was still settling from the wind. The dust began to part as Pidgeotto approached. 'Thunderwave!' Surge called as soon as he saw that the pidgeotto was going to make contact.

Pidgeotto flew through the electricity. It was already used to this amount of electricity thanks to Pikachu. It kept its momentum and slammed Magneton into the air and into the dust clouds.

'Pidgeotto, set up double edge.' Pidgeotto moved away from the air borne Magneton before flying in a steep arc to the ceiling and flying sharply back his target while building speed. The attack caught the Magneton head on and slammed the Magneton into the ground. Pidgeotto landed quickly and started scratching the ground to discharge the static build up. It could feel the electricity beginning to build to critical levels in its body from the constant contact with Magneton.

'Magneton thunder the ground. Give the dirt a charge.' Magneton shot a band of electricity into the ground and it rolled through out the gym floor. Pidgeotto took to the air before the electricity could reach him. Clouds of dust fell off his feathers before being pulled into the whirlwind that still circled the ceiling.

'Pidgeotto double team.' Pidgeotto shadow circled inside the whirlwind before several copies of the bird flew out towards towards Magneton. This time there were no clouds of dust to obstruct its view.

'Thunder Shock.' Hundreds of miniature bolts of lightning shot in rapid succession at both the clones and at the whirlwind. As the clones were disappearing Pidgeotto dodge and canceled his attack to avoid being directly hit. The energy from Magneton's attack hit the ceiling metal supports. They glowed red from the heat. The attacks were enough to break the whirlwind.

Ash whistled a trill, a long whistle and a high to low pitch whistle.

Pidgeotto banked hard towards the ground. He split into several copies of himself each one spreading out into the air and back towards Magneton.

'Thunder wave.' Surge said while watching to find the correct Pidgeotto.

Magneton concentrated on building electricity and releasing in a wave across the ground hitting every copy of Pidgeotto. As the last Pidgeotto was hit. Ash whistled again.

Surge was surprised at the sudden black shadow that hit his unsuspecting Magneton from the ceiling. The two collided into the ground creating a plume of dirt that nearly hit the ceiling. Pidgeotto flew out of the dust and landed on the ground testing to see if it was still charged. When he found it wore off he started scratching the earth.

Surge whistle at the strength of that sky attack. That was usually only reserved for out door fights. Surge recalled his pokemon. 'The girls were not kidding were they? Good job partner. Get some rest. Go Raichu.'

Raichu turned out to be the one that was on the S.S. Anne when Ash first met Lieutenant Surge. It looked like a normal Raichu until he saw the tail. A portion of the curved part at the tip was missing. 'Raichu Thunderwave.' Raichu's cheeks crackled before it released a large pulse of electricity that engulfed the whole gym and viewing area.

Pidgeotto screeched in annoyance before flying low again to get rid of the charge. Ash saw some dirt slowly fall in the arena. Ash smiled but did not dare look up at the ceiling.

'Body slam.' Raichu went to all four legs and burst into a speeding charge.

'Double team Pidgeotto. Give your self some time to discharge and build up your agility.'

Pidgeotto flapped quickly to kick up dust. Surge looked up and noticed there was a huge build up of dirt on the ceiling supports. Large clouds of dirt fell off the ceiling from the moving wind. Surge looked back to see several copies of the bird appeared side by side. Each one scratched the ground before attempting to lift off. Raichu was able to knock into three and shoot lightning at four copies before two more took off to the air. Each one turned to dive in at Raichu. Riachu burst into a ball of electricity to hit both of them as they tried to make contact. Both Pidgeotto's faded as they passed through him. Pidgeotto let the illusion go. A burst of dust exploded on the ceiling. Pidgeotto flew from the dirt covered support beams.

'Pidgeotto start flying to him at full speed.'

'Raichu thunder.'

'Mirror, Pidgeotto.'

The thunder strike hit Pidgeotto in mid air. A great explosion of dirt flew off the bird. Pidgeotto flew out of the cloud with out slowing. The mirror move was complete and Pidgeotto released all the electricity it had absorbed hitting Raichu.

Raichu stood there and took the unexpected hit and staggered. Electricity rolled of its fur and it snarled at the bird. 'Raichu another thunder, Pidgeotto needs time to recover.'

Ash whistled a call.

Surge was right.

The return to base signal made Pidgeotto banked hard and fast. He avoided the thunder and flew around to Ash. The maneuver was enough for Pidgeotto to recover.

'Gust Raichu. Make him work to find you. Fly behind the cloud don't let Surge see you.'

Pidgeotto kicked up more dirt forming a fine cloud that blocked half the view of the stadium. Ash whistled three times and just like it was an every day drill. Pidgeotto started circling quickly and banked hard and flapped his wings. Fine lines of air flew into the cloud causing a minor explosion. Riachu cried out from the unexpected damage from the razor wind attack.

The dust began to settle and Surge called for his Riachi but got no response. When the dust settled Surge called the fight. Instead of recalling his pokemon he waved to Ash to come over and walked over to see to his Raichu.

The announcer called the match. 'Pidgeotto is the winner, Winner of the gym battle is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town.'

'Good job there Raichu. But they had our number from the start didn't they?' Surge popped off the lid to a potion and let his pokemon drink the liquid instead of spraying it on the wounds.

Ash walked up to the older man. 'Is Raichu ok? It's the first time I had to have my pokemon blindly attack with out slowing down.'

Surge looked at Ash and remembered what Erika had said about his restraint in her gym battle. 'Don't worry about holding back on us Ash. Raichu was just knocked unconscious. He will be fine tomorrow. But maybe this is a sign that it's time for Raichu to retire. Just a few years ago we would have been able to keep up and move underneath your pidgeotto to keep sending thunders. He has the power, but he really doesn't have the speed for a ten badge fight anymore.'

Ash smiled. 'How long have you guys been partners?'

'Easily fifteen years. We have been steady buddies through the war and marched four campaigns through Kanto.'

Ash smiled in understanding in appreciation.

Raichu began to rouse on its own and it looked at Surge before he sighed in disappointment. 'I know buddy. We'll talk later.' Lieutenant Surge stood up and pulled out a small metal pin. 'Here is your badge Ash.' Surge leaned forward and whispered. 'Really we can issue these as reward for service. Everyone who had not earned a badge at this gym yet but were drafted had already earned it.'

'So the gym battles were?'

Surge leaned back and laughed. 'Just to keep me busy so I can have my subordinates do my paper work.'

Ash looked at him and started to laugh. 'And here I was wondering if you had something you were doing on the side like the others. And you are passing off work.'

Ash palmed the badge and turned to Pidgeotto. 'You see that Pidgeotto?' Ash showed his pokemon the badge Pidgeotto earned. 'You fought one of the strongest lightning trainers with their strongest pokemon. And you won. I knew you could do it.'

Pidgeotto cooed happily before it's body began to glow. Ash stepped back. He grinned he had a feeling this would happen soon. Pysduck had levitated Pikachu and himself down to the floor as soon as Pidgeotto began to glow.

The light faded and Pidgeotto grew by several feet. Its voice was deeper as it cooed again. It stretched its wings and screeched triumphantly. 'So that's what it took huh buddy?' Ash went to hug the bird who hugged back. 'You just had to believe you were strong enough.' Ash pulled back from his pokemon to look at him.

'I had wondered why you had not evolved already. You were strong as a wild pokemon and you had been a pidgeotto for a long time. Congratulations Pidgeot.'

Lieutenant Surge smiled at the group. He snapped his fingers as he remembered what he wanted to ask Ash. 'Ash how is training with your pikachu going? Has it changed recently for you?'

Ash looked at him. 'It's been going pretty good. Why do you ask?'

Surge sighed scratching his head. 'I got something I would like you to have, but I don't want you take the gesture the wrong way. You checked in the Pokemon Center?'

Ash nodded.

'Good I'll send the box over. It may take you a bit to understand what it can do, but I think you would be the best person to have that particular piece of equipment. While we can't pay for service, we can reward trainers for it. I thought you deserved something for the work. I also sent a commendation out to the League for what you did out there.'

Ash looked at him in shock. 'Thank you sir. I don't know what to say.'

Surge laughed and slapped the boy on the back. 'Don't worry about it man. At the rate you are going you will out rank me soon. Where are you headed to next Ash?'

Ash hummed at Surge's question. 'I am not sure. Probably Fuchsia and do a round trip to Cinnabar and Viridian.'

Surge grinned. 'Good luck with Koga. While Giovanni, the gym leader of Viridian, is the strongest of the trainers, Koga is right behind him. He is training to move past the ranking of a gym leader.'

Ash smiled and thanked the Surge before recalling his pokemon and walking out the doors. He saw Melody pull her friends with her down the steps to the entrance. Ash waved at the group.

'Ash that was amazing!' Gushed Jana.

'How did you get your pokemon so strong?' Ash grimaced at the question. He looked over at Ko who seemed to want to know his secrets.

'Dinner?' Ash asked to forestall the questions.

Ash and Melody had no problem talking about everything that was not pokemon. Ash found an actual friend out of the older girl. Jana interjected a few thoughts into the conversation. It was enough for Ko to reluctantly let go of the training topic.

After dinner Ash finally asked, 'What did you think of the other fights now that you had seen mine?'

'It was night and Day.' Jana played with her hair while thinking about it. 'Your fights were so fast moving. Neither you or Surge paused, it was just attack and defend until one of you scored a solid hit.'

Ash looked over to Ko who seemed to be thinking it over. Ash waited. He could see the appeal of making people think and learn. Finally Ko sighed. 'I don't know you just seemed stronger.'

Melody leaned forward and put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. 'The other trainers... They just attacked or defended. Some of the better ones tried to move them selves into better spots to attack. But they all seemed to try and think of some way to fight the opponent. They did not come with a plan like you did.'

Ko looked up at that. 'They did not use the battle field.'

Ash smiled. 'When I went to my first gym in Pewter city. All I had was pikachu. I was curious how far I had to go. Then I would go get more pokemon. But during that fight Pikachu and I got very lucky and stumbled on something that allowed us to win. We changed how the gym floor worked and it was how we were able to win. After that fight I thought for a long time if I could recreate that inspiration in both me and my pokemon. Or was it literarily lightning in a bottle.'

Ash drank some water and watched them all think about what he said. Melody who was watching him widened her eyes. Ash smiled wanly at her. 'In nearly every fight I have used the gym field in some way. The gym isn't a metal box. There is something in that field to help you fight.'

Melody thought back to a few bits of conversations during the day. 'Did it bother you the way other trainers fought with their pokemon?'

Ash looked at her surprised. After a moment he thought about it. 'I thought it was strange. What really bothered me was that trainers would collect pokemon to fight a specific gym to progress. I only have my three so I don't even know what you do with them all.'

Melody grinned. 'I can at least help you there. What ever town you registered in, you will have an option to deposit your pokemon in the city's park reserve or release them back into the wild.' Ash thought about Oak's ranch. There were hundreds of pokemon there running around free. Were they all trainers pokemon?

Ko felt like he needed to defend himself. 'I have caught thirty four pokemon and I care for all of them. I can only carry six with me when I travel but that doesn't mean I just leave them at Sunny Town. The more pokemon you have the more often you find your self trading them out for different situations. Like how I wanted to train my dugtrio to fight Surge's gym. I used my voltorb to help dugtrio learn how to fight against electric attacks.'

Ash wanted to say you can do that by battling wild pokemon. Ash knew it was a weak argument. He repressed a sigh. Maybe it was that aversion to capturing more pokemon talking.

'I can see where it can be an advantage. Honestly, I think I just been avoiding capturing pokemon. It was just me and Pikachu for a while then I found Psyduck at a pokemon center. Pidgeotto, well Pidgeot I battled and captured him on the way to Lavender Town because I felt I was ready to start training a third pokemon. But he was actually the first pokemon I ever captured.'

The group ooh'ed and ahh'ed at that. Ash relaxed as talk they began to talk about their first captures. He found out that Ko had already received Surge's badge but the girls did not. Both Jana and Melody would try in a few days. Ash did not mention that Surge would already give them badges for service. Instead Ash apologized that he had to get back on the road and would miss their gym battle.

'No worries Ash. You will have your hands full with Pidgeot. When a pokemon evolves you will want to spend as much time with them as you can. Evolution changes a pokemon's behavior and mind as much as their body.'

Ash immediately thought of Eggs, Kelly's pokemon.

'Thanks Melody. We could still at least leave each other messages if you want.'

Melody smiled and gave the ten year old a hug. 'Absolutely! I'll want updates! Good luck getting your final three badges Ash.'

Ash smiled. It really hit him. He only needed three more badges. He had caught up. There was plenty of time before the Kanto Conference.

'Thanks Melody.' Ash waved at the group as he went to the Pokemon Center. It was getting late and the teenagers wanted to stay out longer. Ash was ready for bed. He released his pokemon to check on them. Pidgeot did not seem to show any of the changes he was warned about but he still talked to the bird like normal. Pikachu and Psyduck played on their much bigger partner. Pidgeot seemed to like the attention and spread his massive wings and flapped once. The force of the wind toppled Psyduck. Pidgeot started laughing as feathers from Psyduck were fluffed up from the wind. The group joined in as Psyduck tried in vain to push back the feathers.

Ash sighed as he placed his pokemon back in their balls. He was grateful for his team. They had never doubted him. Questioned his sanity, but never doubted that their trust was misplaced in his hands. Ash played with an empty pokeball.

It was time to get a fourth and hopefully final pokemon. He had already decided on Fuchsia City's gym. From what Blaine said about venomoths, Koga was either a flying or poison gym. Ash did not really care. The surprise was fun. Otherwise he would have looked it up.

Ash found himself staring at a blank screen. He had not realized he had walked to the communications room. Ash pulled out his pokedex and found Gary's id number..

'Hey Gary. This is Ash. I just wanted to leave you a message. I made it to Vermillion City and watched a few gym battles...' Ash paused. He was unsure how to say what he felt about it all. 'You are right. I needed to see what other trainers were doing. But it was what they were not doing that made me realize a lot about my own pokemon and how I trained them.'

Ash looked at the video. 'I only need three gyms. And I plan on getting a fourth pokemon for my team soon. What ever that pokemon happens to turn out to be. What I really wanted to say was thank you. The unknown about my progress was wearing on me. From here on out I will need a team of four. I look forward to our match in the Indigo League. I'll see you when I see you!'

Ash disconnected the message and not even pausing, he opened the channel again to Cerulean City's Gym. One of Misty's sisters answered.

'Oh! Its you! Hello cutie. Let me get Misty for you.' Ash covered his face to hide the blush that was forming on his face. Most of the camera was filled with the older womans bust. Ash politely looked away as she stood up and the camera lost view of her cleavage.

A call came to the background with Misty's name placed in the indiscernible babble. Finally Misty came into view. She looked at Ash and smiled. 'Hi Ash. How was the gym?'

Ash finally let out everything he was holding in. 'Is was weird. Is it wrong that I wanted to shout at them to dodge? Then ask them what the hell was wrong with them? I made a friend in an older trainer that I had yelled at during the rescue mission. We watched the gym matches and they kept talking about how advanced everyone was. I apparently watched trainers who fought at an 6 badge level and above. I don't even know where to begin at the idea of an entry level fight. The fights took hours and the trainers just stood there and waited for something to happen. Then this one kid went through six pokemon to take down three of Surges and only won by luck. Surge was great! Although if he wanted to give trainers experience with electric pokemon why not just shock them a few times until they figure it out? Do you do that too? Water hose down pokemon until they can dodge?' Ash finally slowed down. He let himself catch his breath as he just mouth vomited all this thoughts from the day.

Misty laughed and leaned back in her chair. 'Ash, It sounds like you had fun.' Misty smiled and started to give a grin Ash could not describe. But it was a smile she had given him a few times before.

'Yeah.' Ash deflated. He felt put out that Misty seemed to be amused by his reaction.

'We'll that's good to hear. And yes. You are one of the faster trainers I had fought. Sabrina seemed to be under the impression you were faster when you fought her though. We really should record your fights.'

Ash growled in annoyance. He did perk up after a moment. 'You know, I actually had a real audience of people I knew watch me today. I thought I would be more self conscious of it, but the group I was talking to cheered me on. It was different.'

Misty grinned again. 'That's great to hear Ash! Anyone I should know?' Misty winked at him.

'Just a group of kids who were older than me. I never did get to ask them if they had just started too, or if they did not attempt badges for Verimillion before.'

Misty hmm'ed. 'Well you only really need eight badges. Outside of going after the well known ones there is no real advantage other than the prestige.'

Ash smiled wanly at her, he didn't even know what prestige meant.

'And if a trainer had already earned a badge they don't need to repeat a gym the next season. Most trainers who qualify in a second year and beyond skip the new comers tournament all together and attempt the Indigo plateau. It's the tournament that happens a month after the new comers tournament: the indigo league.'

Ash remembered watching tournaments on t.v. as a child. But he never did pay attention to how adults would fight in tournaments when the Indigo league tournament he saw on television as late as last year were all young as he was, or at least old enough not be young adults.

Misty smiled and leaned forward while pretending to whisper through the viewer. 'Pst. Ash. The Indigo Plateau is not televised.' Ash looked at her in surprise. 'Really its not even mentioned because its invite only. And its a recruitment tool for the Pokemon League. Careers and job appointments are settled during that tournament. And its not just for the new comers. Maybe the winner of the new comers Indigo Tournament may get an invite, but that's really rare. But if Blaine said was true and you win, you may very well get an invite to the Indigo Plateau.'

Suddenly Blaine's warning made sense. Ash loved the challenge of a pokemon fight. But the idea of settling down some where and working some sort of job felt all too soon of a possibility. Ash smiled at Misty. 'Thanks for the help Misty. I really appreciate it. When I am done with my badges I am going to have some free time before the tournament. If I can get Pidgeot flying confidently with me on him. I am coming to visit.'

Misty had a grinned that spread from cheek to cheek. 'That would be fantastic Ash! I can't wait for you to visit! Are you leaving town tomorrow? And are you still thinking Fuchsia?'

Ash nodded. 'It is the one gym that is actually the furthest. Then west to Cinnabar. I'll keep I touch!'

Misty giggled. 'Sure Ash! Good night!'

'Night Misty.'

Ash pushed out of his seat and walked over to the Nurse Joy's reception desk. He waved at a Chansey who sat there patiently going through folding towels.

'Chansey? Did Lieutenant Surge send over a box for Ash Ketchum?'

Chansey nodded before pulling up a very old wooden crate. It was not very large, but the dust marked how old it was since it was last opened. Ash could tell where Surge picked it up and where it was handled.

'Thank you.'

Ash picked up the box and took it to his room. Ash was not sure what to make of it and simply opened the box as soon as he set it down on the desk in his room. Inside Ash found twin rods. Each one was three feet long made with an odd metal he did not recognize. The hilt was wrapped in leather with an odd shape bound at the bottom. Ash lifted them both up and found they were heavier than he thought they would be. Surge's name was written on a card inside the box too.

 _Ash, thanks for the help out there. You saved a lot of people last night. Here is a token of my gratitude. Make sure to use it well. These little guys are made to train my pokemon during the war. Be very careful with the butt end of them. Each one has a thunderstone held in them. It was never a problem for me, but you will want to be careful with pikachu. Have pikachu target a rod. I think you will figure out from there._

 _Lt. Surge,_

 _Kanto Military_

 _Pokemon Division_


	7. Chapter 7: Not Alone

Chapter 7

The days passed quickly once Ash got back on the road. The first thing Ash did was allow for Pidgeot to get used to his new body. Pidgeot flew most of the day ahead and behind Ash. When ever he saw something he would screeched and cawed to get Ash's attention.

Ash, Pikachu and Psyduck looked on and cheered when Pidgeot flew low on one particularly loud call. Ash and the rest of the team were nearly knocked off their feet when Pidgeot flew low and buzz them. While Psyduck and Pikachu cheered, Ash gave Pidgeot an annoyed looked. They did not have to dodge the fly by.

Ash was warned that newly evolved pokemon could rebel against their trainers. He was relieved to see Pidgeot seemed to have become more affectionate. But Ash did find a few times where he would be bowled over by the bird's enthusiasm. Ash was sure Pidgeot still had not realized how big he was now.

The team finally came to a stop and Ash had to wipe the sweat from his head with his shirt. It was only recently that he started to have his black shirt sit around his neck. The sun baked the road and hot air rolled off the ocean from the south. Both Pikachu and Psyduck both looked back waiting for an order. Psyduck quacked in agreement before Ash even asked. 'Looks like this is a good spot to practice on. A lot of clear flat land. Think you can handle us for the whole length Psyduck?'

Psyduck brushed his mind with Ash's. Ash felt more than saw the spanning miles ahead and the feeling of agreement to Ash's question. 'Good. If we can make quick time we will be getting you up and running with teleport soon and we can start getting you feeling comfortable in teleporting us longer distances. If we can do that, you and Pidgeot will be able to get us pretty much where ever we want to go. And that will allow us less time walking and more time training for the conference.'

Ash turned and whistled. Pidgeot banked faster that Ash knew he could have as a pidgeotto. When the bird landed, his chest was puffed out and he was breathing hard. Ash couldn't stay annoyed when he saw the bird looked so pleased with himself.

'OK fine, you were happy you can fly so fast. I want you to rest. We'll actually train tomorrow. But I want to cover as much land as we can today.' Pidgeot obediently bowed his head. Ash recalled him before Pikachu hopped on his shoulder.

'Ok Psyduck, We are going to take this slow until you can see further distances. Are you ready?'

'Psyduck!'

Ash smiled and took the yellow duck's hand. 'OK, Teleport.'

Ash felt his body get splashed in cold energy before the earth moved around him in waves. A split second later the were on the road again. Ash turned around and saw they had moved easily forty feet.

'Good job Psyduck. We'll let you keep practicing until you want to stop. If we run into any trainers we'll let you take a break. Remember only places you can see with your eyes, not your mind. Teleport.' Ash and his team disappeared in a flash of light.

-o-

Ash sat on a tall flat rock. His team wanted to take a break and Ash agreed. They were making amazing time with Psyduck learning teleport. A full days travel could be covered in a matter of hours. The end result though was Ash had not run into a single person in nearly two weeks. He soon figured out he had been skipping by quite a few settlements. The only hint he had was from a fork in the road which had a way station for the area's map. Ash and his team had by passed several villages one a few side roads thought could have easily stopped at if they had walked.

Ash knew Psyduck was going longer distances but Ash did not realize how fast they were traveling. This route should have taken him over two months to travel by foot. They were almost to Fuchsia City now.

Psyduck was happy he was getting used to the way he needed to warp reality. Ash had a good idea how Psyduck could teleport at all. Psyduck's mental eye had no barriers. It was an all encompassing field of view. But the out of body experience seemed to have had the opposite result of amnesia.

Psyduck needed to be very aware of his body. If he moved someone with him, he would need to be aware of the target as well before a warp bubble could constructed around them.

Psyduck gave an image to Ash of oil covering a spoon before being able to teleport. It took Ash a half a day before he realized the analogy was referring to his mental sprawling. Ash scratched his head thinking about how to adapt this to a much finer level of control beyond lesson one. Psyduck would have to learn to pull in his mental energy and have it stop exactly over his targets to be able to teleport them.

Short distances like forty feet away were simple. They did not require a lot of control. The long distances that Ash had him practice took quite a few minutes before Psyduck would be able to transport them around. Ash explained to Psyduck that he should practice to use it as blindly as he could and as fast as he could. Psyduck would quack in agreement.

For now, the group was nearly to their destination. Ash had decided they all needed a break and stayed for a day camping near a stream and a grove of trees. Psyduck just let himself lay flat on the rock with Ash. He was enjoying the heat from the sun and let out a relaxed quack.

'You said it Psyduck.' Ash agreed. He had gone for a swim in the stream and was currently drying out.

Ash was woken later by Psyduck shaking his arm. Ash broke out of his doze and looked over to see someone walking up the path. Ash smiled and stood up.

'Oie! Ash called.

The pair that were traveling together waved back. Ash jumped down from the hot rock and walked up to the path and waited for the pair of travelers to reach them. As they came closer, Ash noticed the tanned man wore traditional robes and tied his long white hair behind him in a braid. The girl was equally tanned and had her black hair tied up in a bun. Ash smiled at the pair. 'Hi, my name is Ash Ketchum. Are you two familiar with the area?'

The old man and the young girl shared identical looks of amusement. 'Yes we are. My name is Kyo. This here is my grand daughter Janine.' Kyo nudged his grand daughter who stepped forward and bowed. She looked at the boy who was maybe a year younger than her. She dare not look down at the shirtless boy's torso.

Ash did not even notice the girl looked uncomfortable. 'I am a trainer looking for Fuchsia City. Do you know how far away it is?'

'It's not too far, maybe a days travel down this path.'

Ash looked over to Pidgeot. 'That's odd, I thought it was that close, but Pidgeot could not find it.'

Kyo and Janine laughed good naturedly. 'I don't believe you could see it very well from the air Ash. The city is in the crevice of a valley. It sits right on sea level not on top of the cliffs like this path.'

Ash oh'ed at that. 'I wish I found that out sooner. I was getting nervous. Thank you Kyo.'

'Not a problem. Do you mind if we camp with you tonight?' Kyo ignored the eep from Janine. 'We have been traveling a while and will need to make camp our selves soon.'

Ash smiled and called his pokemon over. 'Sure! We could always use some company. Do you live in Fuchsia?'

Kyo smiled and looked at his grand daughter. 'Not in the town exactly. Janine would like to take over the family business, but she is still training. That is why we are traveling you see. Janine needed some experience fighting different kinds of pokemon. The best way to get that experience is to fight gym leaders.'

'Oh that's what I have been doing! How did you like it Janine?' Ash asked excitedly. He knew he was a little too eager to talk to someone but it had been nearly two weeks of travel with no one around but his pokemon. He was just happy to speak and have someone talk back to him in a language he could understand and not pikachu, pidgeot or psyduck.

Janine looked up and down Ash's bare chest and still tried to formulate answers. Ash had developed a tan since he found he did not need to wear his shirt as often as he did up north. After two weeks, Ash did not even register he stoped wearing shirts all together.

That didn't mean Pikachu didn't noticed. The mouse jumped on Ash's head. Ash gave an alarmed cry and nearly fell over. Pikachu had his dried out shirt in his mouth.

'Thanks Pikachu. I didn't know it was dried.'

Ash put the shirt around his neck. He did not feel like putting it on at the moment. Ash ran his hand through his wet hair. Just as soon as his hair moved back out of his eyes he looked back to the girl who still started at him with wide eyes. 'It was fine.' She said in a high voice.

Ash smiled. 'The only gyms I haven't been to are the Fuschia City's gym, Blaine's and the Viridian Gym.'

'You know Blaine?' Asked Kyo surprised that a boy so young would call the Cinnabar gym leader by his first name.

Ash nodded enthusiastically while he pulled out the tools to set up a camp. 'Yeah, I met Blaine aboard the Anne. I was drafted for an issue that developed in the bay. Blaine was the back up if it ever went inland.' Ash paused and thought about what he just said. 'You know I have no idea if I am allowed to say anything about that. Do you mind if we keep that between the three of us?'

Kyo laughed. 'Yes we will keep it to our selves. Won't we Janine?'

The girl nodded politely while she kept her self busy going through her bags setting up a tent away from the fire pit Ash was building. Janine did not know what Ash said next, but Kyo commented, 'My, aren't you a chatter box Ash.'

Ash laughed. 'I honestly didn't think the walk from Vermillion to Fuchsia would be this lonely. Psyduck is learning Teleport and Pidgeot is getting used to his new body. He just evolved. I was expecting we would be able to cover more land. We are, but we are spending a lot more of each day training. It doesn't help that we skipped all the cities with out really knowing it.'

Kyo kept his amused grin. 'That is usually the life a trainer leads Ash. I was a trainer my self. If you wouldn't mind, tomorrow would you like to travel the rest of the way with us?'

Ash turned to look at his pokemon to see if they had any objections. When none came, Ash smiled at the two. Janine kept her face down. 'I would love to.'

Ash was curious about the girl Janine's shyness. Eventually after setting up camp Ash had the chance to talk to the pair at length.

'How many pokemon do you have Ash?' Kyo looked at the three that had helped set up camp. He had a feeling he already had his answer when Ash looked up from the stream.

'I just have the three.' Ash sighed. 'I am going to have to find another partner soon. But pidgeot has been keeping me busy.' Ash whistled. Pidgeot swooped down and landed. His perch was the flat stone Ash used as a sun bathing bed. 'Foods up Pidgeot, come down and eat.'

Ash set out the food for his pokemon before looking back to the new comers. 'Really I wanted to look for another partner during this trip. But we are traveling so fast, I have not really had the chance to look around.'

Kyo smiled. 'I've had a few my self. I either come across one that would come with me, or I have to go find a partner. Knowing when you are ready for a new one is usually the key.'

Ash grinned. 'I used to like the idea of having a lot of pokemon. Now. I rather teach as many as I can handle. Looking for a fourth at this point is more because I need to, rather than because I feel ready. Pidgeot over there is the only pokemon I ever caught. I asked Psyduck to come along.'

Janine and Kyo released their pokemon to feed them as well. Ash perked up at seeing a few unfamiliar ones. He pulled out his pokedex.

Janinie giggled at the reaction. 'This is my zubat, Nightwind, my wheezing Darkcloud, my venomoth Dustwing and my ariados Greenie.' Janine blushed at the last name. 'Greenie was my first pokemon and I named her before I really knew what she evolved into.'

'Huh.. Data not found. Is Greenie a pokemon from a different region?'

Janine smiled and pulled her Ariados close to her. 'Yes! She was given to me to train when I was really young. She is native to Johto.'

Ash smiled before noticing the pattern. 'They are all poison types.'

'Yep! I want to learn how to use poison type pokemon to their fullest. So I have been traveling to all of the gyms to learn how to fight them with my poison pokemon.'

Ash smiled at her. He could appreciate the difficulty of what she was doing.

'What?' Janine said nervously.

Ash grinned wider. 'Nothing.'

Janine looked back to her pokemon. She couldn't see her face but she was positive it was red. 'Aside from that, I am going to my fathers gym next. I think I am ready to battle him.'

Ash finally felt something click. 'You are the Fuchsia City's gym leaders daughter, aren't you?'

Janine nodded. She looked at him to gauge his reaction. Ash paused for a second before he asked, 'What is that like?'

Janine giggled. She was relieved that he had no negative reaction to the news. Some people have been less kind. 'Not easy. My father is a hard person to get along with. I want to take over for him eventually, but I am not sure what I am going to do until then.'

Ash smiled and immediately thought of Misty. 'You could always travel and train up. I talked to a few gym leaders before and they had always had something they wanted to do for them selves. They usually have things split between what they want to do and their duty.'

Janine didn't see him pause but Ash was surprised with himself. The idea of Gym Leaders splitting their attention between following their passions and leading gyms used to bother him. Now it was just a simple fact. Ash wondered when he accepted that tid bit. Ash mentally added, _But that does not excuse Erika_.

-o-

The next morning came early for Ash. Ash pulled open his bag and got his training equipment before he roused his team. He holstered the rods he was given from Surge. They were an amazing addition to his training not with just Pikachu, but all of his pokemon. He was extremely cautious for the first week. The thunderstones on the bottom of each rod would glow and Ash would make sure Pikachu stayed clear of them. But Ash and pikachu both understood what they were doing with the training rods now. Ash broke out of his thoughts and looked to his team.

Each one looked at their trainer. Ash simply pointed his hand to the east and each one moved quickly and quietly in that direction. Pidgeot took to the air in a silent ascent. Pikachu burst into speeds reserved for quick attack. Psyduck teleported to a clearing in the east to wait for the others to catch up. Ash smiled at the frustrated growl Pikachu grunted in the distance. As much as it pained Pikachu to admit it, he was now the slowest in moving long distances.

Ash smiled as they moved out. He looked at the still sleeping forms Kyo and Janine before he started a morning fire in the pit. After a few moments to make sure the fire was building, he set a large pot of water to begin boiling for Kyo who mentioned he liked morning tea. With that done, he started running to his team.

Ash slowed when he caught up to the group. He looked around to everyone. 'Pikachu stop pouting.' Each pokemon was eager to start. But Pikachu was usually the bratty one of the group. Especially when he couldn't win something.

'Pikachu since you are so grumpy you get to pair with me today.' Ash pulled on a pair of shock resistant gloves and unhooked two rods from his hips. Pikachu sighed before falling on his back in surrender.

The group laughed. 'Psyduck I want you to start teleporting Pidgeot to distances as far as you feel comfortable with and have him fly you back. Keep your mind open to me, you will always be able to find me.' Ash threw a rope around Pidgeot and tied it to his breast and neck. He saddled Psyduck who had looked just as resigned as Pikachu. Ash gripped the rope hard and Pidgeot gave his trainer an annoyed look.

'Yeah, I know its tight. Mine was worse. If we want you to start getting used to flying me long distances you are going to have to get comfortable with it. You wouldn't want to drop me right?' The bird nodded in agreement. A moment later Psyduck teleported the pair to parts unknown.

Ash turned back to Pikachu. 'Ok Pikachu. What are we going to practice today? So poison is the next gyms theme... How about vision?'

-o-

Janine woke up to the cold morning air and wanted to huddle back in her blankets. She surrendered to the decision to get up. Her grandfather Kyo never would allow her to sleep in. She sat up and sleepily looked around before she remember there were guests with them. She looked to see if Ash was awake only to be disappointed when he looked long gone.

'Grandpa Kyo?'

Kyo sighed when he saw where her eyes went. He recognized an infatuation when he saw one. 'Ash is a mile east of the camp Janine. He is training with his pikachu.' Kyo could hear a sound that was reminiscent of a thunder strike. 'He has been training with his pokemon for a few hours now.'

Kyo sat quietly enjoying his morning tea. 'Would you like breakfast Janine?'

'I will after I go see what Ash is doing. Do you know if he and his pokemon already ate?'

Kyo gave a helpless shrug. Janine released her pokemon and instructed them to eat. As she started making her way to Ash, Grandpa Kyo called after her in warning.

'Be careful. I have a feeling that their training would be dangerous to any one observing. Make your self obvious.'

Janine waved in understanding before she started moving in a run to see what the noise was all about.

Eight minutes later she slowed and let her self catch her breath. Ash had traveled far! She swallowed and let her heart slow down. The sound of thunder rumbled again before the earth shook. Janine found that Ash had entered a small valley that led down to the water.

Janine slowly made her way down until she saw Ash standing still with two rods. He had one in each of his hands. She stared at him for a bit after realizing he was only wearing a pair of long shorts. He raised one rod and it intercepted a bolt of lightning. The hilt glowed a bright yellow and seemed to swallow the lightning.

'How is he doing that?'

Janine could hear Ash yell something but she could not make it out. She slowed and walked cautiously to a better vantage point. She did not want to disturb what they were doing. Around the corner she gasped at Pikachu. The mouse was blind folded and was snarling while listening for sound. Ash had thrown one of his rods in an arc over Pikachu.

Pikachu shot it with perfect aim in the air before it landed. He shot it again with his lightning. Ash used the the time when the sound was the loudest to move. He stopped as soon as the valley cleared the echo of Pikachu's attack. Pikachu looked agitated. His fur was flared out and his ears twitched in every direction.

Janine realized she should not be there. She took a few steps back and waited. Janine squatted, entranced as Ash made Pikachu work to find him. Each shot of electricity was sharp and fast. Pikachu would use his tail to raise sand listening in case it hit something other than the ground. A few times he shot at rocks he thought was Ash only for Ash to give a slight laugh before going silent again.

Janine knew they should probably get going soon. Deciding the best way to get his attention was to wave Ash down, she stood up. A second later she couldn't help the groan that left her mouth as her stiff legs protested in the movement.

Ash was in front of her before she realized her mistake. A bolt of energy shot at the pair before it was intercepted by the rod and thrown to the ground. 'Hold! You know I wouldn't go this far out of bounds!' Pikachu pulled off his blindfold and ran to them when he realized what he almost did.

Ash shook his hand. He caught the bolt at an awkward angle and his hand had gotten numb from the hit. He looked over to Janine. 'You alright Janine?'

Janine swallowed at the near accident. 'Yes, thank you.' Janine looked over to Pikachu who looked concerned.

'It's alright Pikachu. Grandpa Kyo warned me and I knew better. I just didn't think about it when I stood up. I had been watching you guys for a while. You are really good pikachu.'

Pikachu cha'ed a thank you before running up to her and licking her cheek. She giggled and hugged the little pokemon back.

Ash looked up to the air and closed his eyes. A few seconds later Ash's Pidgeot appeared. Psyduck still strapped solidly in place. Both looked tired and slightly disorientated. Ash looked at them before saying out loud. 'You teleported out to the middle of the ocean didn't you?'

'Psy!' Psyduck said as an apology. Ash went to unhook the duck pokemon and let him rest on the sand. Ash looked to make sure Janine was alright. He sighed at the near accident. He picked up his rods and holstered them in on his belt one on each side of his hip. He noticed Pidgeot was waiting for Ash to take the rope off before they made their way to camp.

Ash impulsively asked, 'You up for flying me and Janine back to camp Pidgeot?' The bird looked at the pair unsure. 'Pidgeot, you are stronger than you think. Remember when you were able to lift me up as just a pidgeotto? Besides we need to apologize to Janine for what Pikachu nearly did.' The bird nodded before stooping low.

'But to make sure you are not juggling too many passengers,' Ash raised Pikachu's and Psyduck's pokeballs. Before they could protest they were sucked in. 'Just take your punishment and be happy we are traveling the rest of the day.' Ash told the two pokeballs as they instantly stopped rocking. Both pokemon knew they were getting off light for their mistakes.

'Janine we are sorry for what nearly happened. I wanted to make it up to you.' Janine stood back up and looked over to Ash just as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder and gestured to Pidgeot. 'Have you ever rode a flying pokemon bareback?' Ash smiled at Janine.

She shook her head slightly awed at the idea. Ash laughed at the look she gave him. He teasingly said, 'Good! It will be a first time for the both of us. I have never flown on a pokemon with out a saddle either.'

Ash reached for her hand. She took his hand without resistance and was led to sit on the birds back. Once she was on Pidgeot's back Ash pulled right behind her. She flushed as he pressed his body against hers.

Why was he shirtless again!

Ash pulled on the rope used to tie Psyduck. Once they were both able to securely hold the rope, Ash wrapped his legs in them to keep from sliding off.

'Ok Pidgeot, this is either going to be an awesome story to tell our kids, or you are going to be trainerless. Either way, its not your fault. Lets go!'

'I thought you said you flown with a saddle before.' Janine said still slightly lightheaded in such close proximity to Ash.

'I have, just not on Pidgeot here. This is his first flight with passengers.' Ash admitted while grinning at her. The bird gave his trainer a very annoyed look and took off with out any warning. Ash and Janine screamed and laughed all the while gripping the rope like the life line it was. The two got their breaths back once Pidgeot was stable in the air.

Ash leaned over Janine. 'See Pidgeot? I told you it's not so bad!' Janine felt his breath in her ear and could not stop the shivers his voice sent down her body. Ash squeezed his arms around her to make sure she did not fall and was looking ahead. Janine finally had the courage to look back. Ash's face was serious but he had a small smile. It split into a grin when he looked at her. 'How is it Janine?'

Janine looked forward and leaned against Ash for support. 'It's amazing.'

The flight only lasted for a minute. It was long enough to fly to a decent height before going back down for a landing. The two cheered and laughed as Pidgeot landed and unceremoniously leaned on his back until the two trainers fell on the ground in a heap. Pidgeot laughed at shook the rope off and flew to a perch on the stone Ash sunbathed on the day before.

Kyo watched the interaction both amused and exasperated. 'Welcome back children.'

-o-

Ash did not know how to express his surprise. The Fuchsia City gym stood by itself, set apart from the port city. The gym was modeled as classic Kanto house made of bamboo.

'Come on and let me introduce you to my father I haven't seen him in months!'

Janine grabbed his hand and gave a firm tug. Ash laughed at the shy Janine being the one to pull him around. Pikachu fell off Ash's shoulder when Janine pulled the two around a corner. Pikachu landed on his feet and gave an upset cry before following them. Kyo leisurably walked behind them keeping his amused laughs to himself.

Janine jumped and kicked the bamboo gates. The doors rattled in protest before rummaging could be heard on the other side. Janine just cried, 'Hurry up and open the door!'

The double doors finally opened to reveal two kakuna had used string shot to open the doors for them. Koga stood in his black meshed shirt and vest patiently waiting for the doors to fully open.

Koga stood stoically in front of his daughter. 'Janine present your self.'

Janine decided to forego any sense of propriety and ran up and jumped on her father, giving him a hug.

'I haven't seen you in months. Formalities later.' she snuggled her father. Koga simply gave a resigned sigh before patting his daughter's head.

'I missed you too. Who is your guest?'

Koga politely turned to Ash.

Ash minded his manners and bowed to the Gym Leader. 'My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town.'

Koga looked behind him and gave his father Kyo a look. The older man nodded. He confirmed that this was _that_ Ash.

'It is an honor to have you in my gym Ash from Pallet Town. Come in.' Koga stepped to the side and allowed the group to enter.

Ash felt more than heard the doors close behind him. When he looked around, he saw the same bamboo had made up the walls of the gym. Rice paper walls divided the building. Ash could make out the hints of the actual gym to his left inside a deep pit. Ash recognized the tell tale signs that the he was standing on the same level spectators would view a gym battle.

Ash smiled as Janine ran to and fro in the house getting reacquainted with pokemon she had not seen in months. Ash stood next to Koga watching the spectacle with him. 'Janine was not this energetic on the road. I thought she was a lot more calm.' Ash observed while she twirled with a caterpie.

'It is her nature to be cautious with those she is not familiar with. She seemed to warm up to you quickly if she is already pulling you around to follow her.' Ash realized that Janine had dragged him to what is effectively her home by the hand to introduce him to her father.

'I probably did not set the best example when we first met. I was happy to see other people on the road and was a little too eager to talk.'

Koga let his chest rumble with a laugh.

-o-

Ash was invited and accepted to stay at the gym for the night. Ash only took a few minutes to realize Koga knew exactly who Ash was and what he had done. The late evening was cooling the air and Ash found he could not sleep. Pikachu, Pidgeot and Psyduck all piled on top of each other sleeping in a cozy corner with warm blankets as a mattress. It was still heaven compared to sleeping out doors. Ash smiled at them before walking out to the balcony in the main room. Ash turned on the light for the outdoors viewing area and stood looking at the ocean. He could hear the waves hit the cliffs below him an it brought warm air up to him in quick sea salt smelling gusts.

'I find my self here often when Janine is absent.' Koga walked out to the balcony.

'Koga, Sir. Would you like to join me?' Ash smiled at the man.

Koga returned the invitation with inclined chin and walked out to stand next to Ash. 'Thank you Ash, there is a reason why I sought you out.'

Ash gave the gym leader a sidelong glance. 'What would that be for sir?'

Koga gave the young man a considering look. Ash was a young looking ten year old. His daughter was just a little taller than he was. The image was deceptive considering the things he had heard and what type of match fighting him would require. 'How many pokemon do you have?' Koga asked kindly.

Ash thought about all Janine told him. The fact she was studying to be a poison pokemon specialist was his biggest clue. 'I only have three.'

Koga supressed his disappointment. 'I see.'

Ash looked out to the ocean and after a moment asked, 'I have to have four to battle you, don't I?' Ash closed his eyes and bowed his head. He knew that these fights were coming and he still wasn't prepared for this simple requirement.

'I am sorry Ash. My gym requires it. Do you know what I specialize in?'

'Poison. I can imagine the format from that. I assume you need four pokemon as a minimum so any pokemon who does fight you will not take fatal doses of poison.'

'Yes Ash. My format for all of my gym battles are four vs four single round bouts. One pokemon per round. You will need at least four pokemon to even consider challenging me. I am sorry Ash I can not accept your challenge as you are now.'

Koga bowed in apology.

'Thank you for telling me when it is just you and me. It means a lot. I'll stay at the pokemon center for a few days to make sure Pidgeot is ready, then I am flying to Cinnabar. I'll train a fourth member and return soon.'

Koga gave the boy a smile. 'I look forward to it. Have a good night Ash.'

'Good night Sir.'

Ash looked back out to the water. He closed his eyes and swallowed the disappointment. It was as heavy. It reminded him of the emptiness when he thought he would need to wait a year to be a trainer.

-o-

Ash walked down the cobblestone path to the city. He only looked back after he heard foot steps chasing after him. He didn't need to guess who it was. 'Morning Janine.'

Janine slowed when she caught him. 'Morning Ash! What are you doing today?'

Ash smiled at her in amusement. 'I am going to see if I can get a saddle for Pidgeot in town. It looks like I am going to have to postpone my gym battle with your father.'

Janine gasped, 'I am so sorry Ash. But you will come back?'

Ash nodded while thinking about how his plans turned around. 'Yeah. Pidgeot is ready to fly with me on his back. Really Psyduck can already teleport me to places that he has been too. Any new town will be iffy for him. But it will be easy to back track. And I don't plan to wait for a ship. I'll see how many miles it is to Cinnabar island and plot stops along the way.'

Janine pouted. 'Well that's disappointing I was hopping you could you could stick around for a bit.'

Ash patted her back in encouragement. 'There is always calls and messages. Do you plan on staying in town? Or you going back out?'

Janine humm'ed. 'I am not sure, we mostly came back because grandpa Kyo wanted to come home and rest. But he says I am trained enough to go out on my own. I still have to do father's gym and Viridian City Gym.'

'Well, for now, want to come with me to town?' Ash found himself smiling when she grinned at the invitation.

'I would love to Ash.'

The town was just as busy as Vermillion but only half as large. Ash wondered about it since it seemed to be right on the ocean. But then he realized there was not much land outside of the cliffs.

Ash and Janine first went to the pokemon center to check Ash in. Ash was able to get directions to a leather worker shop. The shop itself was a wooden building. It had an open back yard and some kind of house in the back with a smoke stack.

'Hello?' Ash called. He left Janine at the door and walked in.

'Can I help you young one?' An middle aged man with dark skin and sooted hair came around the outside door. Apparently he had been working in the yard.

'Yeah I am looking to get a saddle for my Pidgeot. We are planning to fly out from here.'

The older man smiled and waved the girl in. 'Bring in your friend. I'll ask you a few questions before we really start up.' The man brought the pair to a work bench table that was covered in leather clippings and saw dust.

Ash found he learned a lot about how to care for a saddle before the man even would consider building one for his pokemon. Once the man was satisfied, he pulled out an assortment of leather scraps and full hides.

Pidgeot stoically stood allowing the man to measure and lay out several hides on the the bird.

'Sorry Pidgeot, I know you may find that uncomfortable, but it will be over soon.' Ash called.

Ash turned to Janine who was playing with some kind of branding stamp and hammer. 'Look Ash! you can make imprints when you hammer it on the leather.' Ash smiled and walked over.

'You kids are more than welcome to try out those on the smallest scraps of leather. These measurements are going to be a while. If you find something you would like to emboss on the saddle let me know.' Called the old man as he was busy working with Pidgeot to expand his wings to do more measurements.

Ash and Janine exchanged grins as they pulled all sorts of leather scraps together and found different metal emboss symbols.

The two chatted at possible patterns. Finally Ash said aloud. 'If its something that I am going to stare at for hours at a time I want it to mean something.'

Janine giggled, 'What? Like a tattoo?'

The two stood shoulder to shoulder. Ash pushed her gently for the comment. 'Sure why not, better my saddle than me. I want something to commemorate my first journey.'

Janine looked at a few lines that had a slight curve to them. 'How about this?' She hammered out a wandering path and got a simple solid oval to hint at a person at the base of the path.

Ash smiled. 'I kind of like that. It looks kinda lonely like that though.'

Janine smiled impishly at him. 'You could always add one for me too. Here.' Janine added another thinner oval with a star at the top in imitation of her hair bun.

Ash laughed. 'That just makes me look fat.' Just then, Pidgeot squawked in alarm as the measurements began around his legs.

Ash turned and quickly pulled Janine around to look at Pidgeot. He was covered in layers and different sizes of uncut leather. The two laughed and Ash had to use his pokedex to take a single picture of Pidgeot with the layers of uncut leather wrapped around him. Pidgeot did his best to keep his dignity until a thin warp of leather flopped over his face.

Janine started leading the way back to the pokemon center while Ash grimaced at the cost of the saddle and harness. Thankfully it was not as much money as the bus trip from one town to the other, but it was expensive. 'I am going to have to do more tournaments. That one I did was barely enough to cut across Celadon to Saffron City.'

Ash pocked the money and looked at Janine. 'I didn't have to spend a penny.' She gave him an apologetic shrug. 'It's considered Pokemon League training. So they fund it.'

Ash laughed and thought it was too bad being drafted doesn't net you any money. But then again he wouldn't trade his training rods for anything.

Inside the Pokemon Center Ash went to settle in his room. Janine followed him and looked at the room. Despite living here, she had never gone inside the Fuchsia City Pokemon Center. It was not that different than the other ones she slept in much to her disappointment.

Ash really wanted to call Misty, but felt that would be some kind of... Something bad if he asked Janine to wait. Instead he pulled open a map for the Seafoam islands and Janine helped him route a path through a few islands to rest while looking for another pokemon.

It was getting to mid afternoon when Janine sighed. 'I should probably get going back home. I was only supposed to chat with you for a bit.'

Ash laughed. 'Not the whole day?' Ash playfully tossed a pillow at her. 'Thanks for coming down with me. It was nice to spend time with a friend.'

Janine smiled back at him. 'I'll try and find you tomorrow. You better come up and say good bye before you leave. Alright?'

Ash laughed. 'I will. I think I should go make a few calls. And let the friends I do have know I made it to town.'

Janine laughed. 'Go call your family too!'

Janine got up and left. Ash sat back in his chair and looked over to Pikachu and Psyduck. They were busy watching tv again. Pidgeot was flying outside and would perch on the roof when he was tired. Psyduck would let him know when Pidgeot comes back.

Finally Ash stood and stretched out. 'Misty first I think.'

Ash walked over to the communications room. He sighed when it turned out the room was filled with cubicals and not individual rooms. Ash dialed Misty's number and waited. Two minutes nearly passed and Ash was tempted to hang up when the computer receiver clicked. Ash looked at the screen and stared at Dewgong. Apparently it had answered the call.

'Hey Dewgong, is Misty there?'

Dewgong started at the screen trying to see the flat image of Ash. It eventually gave up and moved away. Ash laughed to himself and waited to see if the pokemon would do it.

Another minute passed. Ash kept the line open only because he could hear noises on the other side.

'Hello there Cerulean, this is Ash. It's nice to meet you again.' Ash started talking to himself. Eventually he heard one of the girls scream she found Dewgong.

'Hello who ever is on the other side of the magic screen.'

One of Misty's sister's who he did not remembered their name looked at the screen. 'Misty your boyfriend is on the line!'

Ash felt his face reddened but he kept the smile plastered on his face. 'Hello how you are you?'

The sister on the other side smiled back. 'I am doing fine, thanks for asking sweetie, but you should be saving that charm for Misty don't you think?' The woman winked at him.

Ash really felt like hanging up the call, or burying his head. Misty popped into view. 'Thanks Daisy! Now get out of here!'

Ash felt himself laugh watching Misty keep pushing her sister off screen with the door firmly slammed shut. Misty looked at the screen. 'Hi Ash! It's been a while!'

'Hi Misty, I made it to Fuchsia. But it looks like I'm going straight to Cinnabar.'

'Not enough pokemon?'

Ash laughed. Sure he was disappointed, but Ash knew he had it coming. 'Yeah. I'll need to train up a fourth before I even think of going against Blaine. I'll be hopping between islands. Pidgeot is ready to fly me. Now I don't have to worry about spending money for boat tickets. I actually made a new friend on the last day of getting here.'

Misty smiled. 'That's great Ash! I knew you could get someone to like you enough to talk.'

Ash stuck his tongue at her. 'Thanks. It's some girl named Janine. Actually, she did say she fought you.'

'Koga's daughter! I remember her. How is she doing?'

Ash laughed. 'I can't tell if she was really shy or what when we first met. She seemed to open up a lot more today.'

Misty giggled. 'If you just around like that it probably has to do with you having no shirt on you goof.'

Ash looked at her blankly. 'You are all...' Misty blushed. 'Well you look good with out a shirt Ash. She probably has a crush on you or something.'

'Oh.'

Misty gave him an annoyed glare. 'Be nice to her. She is a sweetie. Don't start leading her on. She has a career to think about too. And She has a thing for tanned guys.' She gave him a pointed look.

Ash thought back to the first time he meet her, 'oh.'

Or the time when he saved her from pikachu training exorcise.

'Oh!'

Or the flight back to camp with her.

'Arg.'

And the time spent with her all day today.

'Damn it.'

Ash covered his face with his hand.

Misty wanted to be concerned but as he slowly made a series of noises she started to laugh. 'Ash, did you just get a girl to like... like you?'

Ash just made another grunt trying to wrap his mind around his thoughts about girls in general.

Misty snorted trying to repress her laugh. 'Way to go lady killer.'

'Shut up Misty.'

-o-

Ash was pleased with the saddle and harness. Pidgeot flew him above the city for close to an hour before the two decided they both got used to the saddle. Ash was warned that he should take the first few days of flying slow. He will be sore.

Ash could agree to that statement. After just the short flight he felt his thighs tingle from the cold and numbness of being in a single position for so long. Ash decided he would try and see how fast Pidgeot could go with him securely on his back and fly only short bursts per day. Just far enough to skip islands until they reach Cinnabar island.

Misty said Cinnabar was one of the few places she visited before. She warned the islands themselves are deceptively small. But the whole region covered nearly two hundred miles.

Ash felt it was time to head out. He had stayed a day longer than he wanted to make sure the leather straps were easy to move and he knew how to properly care for it all. The ocean water would wear it down quicker than he would expect. Pidgeot flew high to clear the cliff and reach the gym. When Ash landed he looked at his saddle with pride. On the center grip there was the small path with a single oval to represent his trip. On the side where he looked at was the better part of it. Three ovals stood there. Two had little stars to help show their hair. Janine's was low and in the center, Misty's was high and to the left and Gary had a simple waved bar to show is hair cut. All three faced the single circle starting his path.

Ash knocked on the gates to the gym. Thinking of Misty actually made him think of the day after his call with her. Ash very nearly chose not to see Janine the next day. Ash did not want to have any kind of observation change his friendship with Janine so in the end he spent the whole day with her like he had planned before calling Misty. Their tour lasted for hours before they really got to the beach where Janine had him swim in the ocean with her.

Ash smiled to himself. She seemed hell bent on getting as many memories of their day as possible. Ash could understand. For as much as he became friends with her, he had no idea when he would see her in person again. There were no guarantee's she would still be at Fuchsia when he returns to get his badge. At least Pidgeot and Psyduck make it a possibility.

He even bought Misty a souvenir which he sent out through postal immediately after he purchased it. But one thing he took to heart was Misty's warning.

Keep your physical distance.

Ash really began to see what he was doing when he was conscious of it. He even found himself flustered when Janine leaned against him and showed him something she found in one of the shops they stopped at.

He was just thankful she didn't point out he started wearing a shirt again. Misty had just consoled him and said damage done. Misty didn't think that would stop Janine from liking him.

Ash released Pikachu and Psyduck as the door's opened. Janine came out with her Ariados. 'So you are leaving Ash?' She moved her hands behind her back and lifted her self on her toes.

'Yeah I spent enough time here with out actually getting any training done. These guys are getting lazy with so much tv.' Pikachu and Psyduck protested, but Janine giggled. She knelt down to the two pokemon. 'Thank you for watching out for him all this time. Please keep doing so for me too alright?' The two pokemon cheered and each gave the girl a hug. Janine smiled at Ash before walking to Pidgeot.

'Thank you for the ride. I know I was a stranger when you did.' She gave the bird a hug. She felt her heart move when she saw the emboss on the saddle did include her on it.

Janine went back to Ash still smiling. She felt Ash getting ready to step back. To stop him Janine abruptly threw her arms around his neck. 'Just don't be a stranger. Drop by and visit soon. Ok?' She let him go and pushed him toward his pokemon.

Ash laughed with her before recalling his pokemon and mounting on top of Pidgeot. 'I'll be back to challenge your father. You better have beat him too by the time I get back. I want to compare notes. Ok?' Ash smiled at her.

She smiled prettily at him. Ash wondered to himself how he did not noticed she liked him. She really had acted like this the entire time. Ash sighed at the idea. It was way too soon to even think about that stuff.

'Let's go Pidgeot.'

Pidgeot screeched before taking off.

Janine watched him fly off until he was a dot. She sniffed slightly now that Ash wasn't there to see her. She blinked once and it stopped

'It's ok to be sad Janine.' grandpa Kyo patted her shoulder.

'It is just...' Janine gave a mournful sigh as she no longer could see the dot that was Ash. 'I don't even know if he liked me or not you now?'

Kyo gave his grand daughter a hug. 'Men like Ash seldom notice their own feelings. They have other things they spend their lives focusing on. Just be mindful of that if you ever do attract his attention, you will have as much of a struggle getting his affection as much as he would be giving it.'

Kyo went inside and shook his head.

Koga watched his daughter from inside the home. 'To be young, eh father?'

Kyo took the water off the heating element to pour for tea. It took him a moment to respond. 'You were never like that. Sana thanked the maker for it too before she passed away. She saw how much I had ignored your mother and was worried you would be the same.'

Koga smiled but still could not understand his father. 'It is something to be completely consumed by your passions. I don't believe Ash is there yet, but he is incredibly focused. I just hope Janine does not get hurt if she has the will to go after him but finds she can't follow his path.'

A/N:

Thanks again for the reviews. Again the chapters seem to answer questions before I really address them. But one think I did read is how jarring the time skips can be. That has more to do with the lack of interaction Ash has with other people. He has gone down a very solitary road. A lot of the early chapters worked in two acts. Now that he is interacting with characters for longer, the chapters have stopped being effectively two acts and are now becoming singular stories per chapter. It's something I noticed my self that I saw the original pattern break around Chapter 4.

Updates are going to come a little slower. Serene Amarbel Asteria and pikachew1 are right. I should take some more time and edit the chapters before release. Thank you both for pointing things like this out. Any constructive feed back is appreciated.

As for some other questions that were asked. This story's Ash definitely has his mind in one place about training more pokemon in general and its from not trusting his own ability to train pokemon. He does not have the bravado that cannon Ash has because it was snapped out of him when he gave up the idea of being a trainer for another year. It was further cemented in his mind to question his ability to train in chapter 1. He was saved by Pikachu, and it was Pikachu's idea that allowed him to win the gym battle.


	8. Chapter 8: Trainer

Chapter 8

Ash had Pidgeot rest on the fifth island. It was one of the larger ones he had planed to fly over. It was a good spot as any to look for pokemon. Ash unmounted and gave a disappointed grunt when he only noticed a few water pokemon. He frowned before he released Pikachu and Psyduck.

'Good job Pidgeot, rest up for now.' Pidgeot nudged Ash affectionately before disappearing into his pokeball. Ash set Pidgeot's saddle on the ground and began to fold it like he was instructed before placing it in his bag. Once his work was done Ash looked over to Pikachu and Psyduck.

Psyduck had a blank look in his eyes. Ash knew he was looking into the distance. Abruptly Psyduck started crying.

'Hey buddy, what's wrong?'

Ash knelt to Psyduck and he felt Psyduck's emotions wash over him.

 _Home._

'Home? Nurse joy said you were a wild pokemon. I am sorry I don't remember where you actually come from though. Is it around here?'

Psyduck pointed west and further south.

Ash smiled and patted his partner. 'Did you want to go visit your home during the trip?'

Psyduck turned to him still teared eyed and nodded excitedly. Ash smiled. 'Then we will. Let's make camp and if we don't find what we are looking for we can go there tomorrow. How about that?'

Psyduck gave Ash a hug and cried in joy.

Ash had Pikachu watch the camp. Ash and Psyduck went further inland into the forest and looked around. There were actually more pokemon here than he expected. Most were water pokemon that Ash felt would not be a good fit. Both Psyduck and Pikachu already with working water moves. Although Pikachu's were situational...

Psyduck tugged on Ash's shorts and pointed a little to their right. Ash looked further in that direction and the two started moving closer to a clearing with multiple pokemon sunbathing on a pond. Ash scanned the group with his pokedex but they were all pokemon he had seen before.

'Alright buddy good job finding the group but lets head back. We need to make sure Pikachu didn't raid my backpack for food.'

Psyduck quacked and the two turned around to head back to camp.

-o-

The next morning Ash sat with Psyduck looking further down the islands with Psyduck's mind. Ash counted twelve islands going further east and slightly south. 'Alright Psyduck that's enough for now. We'll stop if I get Pidgeot lost. You ready Pidgeot?'

Ash turned around and saw that Pidgeot was finally done going through his feathers from yesterdays flight. Ash made sure the camp was completely taken apart and the group flew.

Ash pointed out several islands to Pidgeot as they flew by them. Ash mentally checked off each land mark pleased that he was able to recognized everyone. The team had no difficulty finding the island.

The island itself was small. It was just large enough to be the size of a small town. The forest bled into sand very close to the shore line and it was dense with rocky shores and trees. Ash wiped the sweat of his brow and looked over to Pidgeot. Ash was happy to see his flying partner did not seem to have tired at all from the flight. Ash smiled at him. 'And you were worried you would get tired.'

The bird huffed at him before preened under the attention. Ash took out Psyduck's pokeball and Psyduck looked around anxiously. He closed his eyes and Ash felt the gentle push for permission to enter. Ash accepted. Ash and Psyduck both looked around for a few moments. Ash could hear Psyduck gasp in excitement. Three islands south was a rocky island near a small town. Ash smiled at the hundreds of water pokemon Psyduck allowed him to see.

'Alright! It looks you found them Psyduck. You ready to see your old home?' Psyduck nodded emphatically before hopping onto Ash and clicking his pokeball. Ash felt the gentle nudge to hurry. Ash smiled and looked over to Pidgeot. He was already stooping low to allow Ash to get back on. 'Just a little more Pidgeot. We spotted a town not too far away. They may even have a pokemon center where we can rest.' Pidgeot cooed.

Ash followed the mental land marks of the islands. While there were fewer islands to cross, a few of them were farther than he thought. Pidgeot managed to fly to them with a quicker speed than the first flight. Ash wondered if Pidgeot could feel Psyduck's urgency.

Ash directed Pidgeot to land inland. The clearing was a fair way from the beach. Ash released Pikachu and Psyduck. 'Did you want to stay out Pidgeot? We will be resting in town tonight.' Pidgeot nodded and simply took to the air to glide above them. Ash smiled at the birds' enthusiasm. Before Ash started flying on him, Ash was beginning to wonder if Pidgeot hated how slow they traveled on their way to Fuchsia. The flight with him at hours at a time did not change how he behaved. Ash was relieved that it seemed Pidgeot did not mind either way.

Psyduck jumped from foot to foot eager to get a move on to the beach. His hands were at his sides and flapping up and down. Ash resisted the urge to laugh. 'Lead the way Psyduck.'

That was all the cue Psyduck needed. With a burst of speed that looked odd without the use of psychic energy that accompanied it, Psyduck started waddling quickly down the beach to other pokemon scattered over the sand. Ash followed. Slowly, a cacophony of calls was raised as the natives saw the new comers enter their beach. Psyduck released a loud call and a chorus of calls responded.

Ash whistled at the call back.

'Pikah.' Pikachu called when he jumped onto Ash's shoulder. Ash picked up his pace as a mass of Psyducks and Goldducks began to crowd his partner. Ash stood off to the side with Pikachu and just watched the reunion. Ash had no idea what the family of pokemon was talking about but after a bit, Ash could feel Psyduck's happiness from their link. Ash smiled as Psyduck's mind reached out for him. Ash started walking to his pokemon.

The psyducks parted and Ash knelt next to Psyduck. 'How are you feeling little guy?'

Psyduck turned to him and gave a happy 'Psy!'

 _Home!_

Ash smiled.

Ash watched all of the pokemon interact with each other. They all seemed to be pretty happy with where they were. 'I never asked you Pikachu, do you have a home you ever want to visit?'

Pikachu perked his ears but shook his head. 'Pikapi. Pikachu' Pikachu placed his paw on Ash's shoulder then his chest.

'Alright buddy. Just let me know if you ever do. Both you and Pidgeot chose to join me, but Psyduck never had an option to leave his home. He had to be taken to protect himself and others near by.'

Psyduck quacked and showed off his trainer. Ash was not surprised by the lack of pokemon who tried to connect to his mind. Sabrina had said it was actually rare that any pokemon would be willing to try. They were often too scared that the trainer's mind would be too different from theirs. As the day wore on, Ash constantly looked to see if any pokemon would reach out to him but no one tried except for Psyduck. Finally Psyduck quacked on final time and looked to Ash. _Ready_.

'Are you sure Psyduck?' Ash stood but he did not want to rush his pokemon if he wanted more time. There was still plenty of daylight left.

 _Wave coming._ Ash was instantly given an image of a huge wave hitting island and the pokemon fleeing.

Ash thought back to Psyduck panicking in the water and understood Psyduck's aversion to the open water. Psyduck pulled on his pant leg. When Ash looked at him. Psyduck shook his head. Ash pursed his lips. He didn't like misunderstanding his pokemon.

'Alright, Let's go guys.' Ash noticed that a lot of pokemon were pulling away from the beach. That kind of display made him nervous. It was time to go. Ash whistled a call to Pidgeot. Ash allowed one more wave of good byes from Psyduck to the other pokemon before recalling Pikachu and Psyduck. He mounted Pidgeot and was in to the air. He flew Pidgeot in a circle. The beaches where there were plenty of pokemon minutes before were now empty. It was enough to raise his curiosity.

In the distance he could see the a massive wave that coned to a point. Ash did not like the look of it. 'Pidgeot get closer but stay above two hundred feet, we want to see it, not get shot by it if its a gyrados.'

Pidgeot cawed at his trainer before banking and going towards the wave. Ash did not realize how large the wave actually was. It was as tall as his house. It could easily consume the beach. Pidgeot was more curious than Ash. Much to Ash's annoyed protest, Pidgeot flew closer on his own volition.

Ash scratched Pidgeot in understanding and the two saw a mass of gray leading the wave. Ash pulled out his pokedex. While he could not identify the pokemon his pokedex could.

'A Snorlax? How the hell is it swimming?'

Ash put his pokedex away just as the pokemon hit the beach. It slammed into rocks and pushed up parts of the beach leaving behind upturned jagged spikes. Ash looked down the beach and realized those rocks he walked around were from previous visits by this pokemon. The Snorlax walked into the forest and started pulling down branches while he shoveled fruit down his gullet. Pidgeot flew to one of the taller trees and Ash and Pidgeot observed the monstrous pokemon. Ash had only seen Gyrados be larger. A squawk filled the air as various water pokemon that took to land were uprooted from their shelters. They scattered from under the branches and burros they had dug for protection. Snorlax ignored them all to walk to the fresh water lake Ash spotted half a mile away.

There was a round of squawks and several Psyducks ran away as fast as they could in fear of the large pokemon.

Ash glared at him.

'Hey!' Ash shouted before he realized what he was doing. 'Don't do that!' Pidgeot turned his head to look at his trainer in surprise. Ash matched his pokemon's bewildered look with an angry look of his own. 'You damn right I am about to get involved, get me down there.'

Pidgeot rolled its eyes before taking off and gliding between a narrow split in the trees. Ash dismounted. 'Don't bother the other pokemon like that! This is their home!'

Snorlax turned its meaty head towards Ash and half opened his eyes.

'You damn right I am talking to you! What are you doing? This is my friends home!'

Snorlax turned back to the tree before looking back to Ash. Deciding on a course of action the Snorlax walked towards Ash forgetting about the trees completely. Wild pokemon cleared the area as the ground shook with Snorlax's steps. Ash craned his neck up to keep his eyes on the Snorlax. 'You can try to intimidate me as much as you want. My pikachu is scarier than you.'

Ash ignored the shaking in his pokeballs that signaled his pokemon were protesting. 'Don't you interfere either Pidgeot, I'm pissed.' Pidgeot huffed but moved to a perch in a tree. His wings were spread out and ready to interfere with his idiot' trainers decision.

Snorlax raised his arm and ice began to form in his fist. Ash pulled out his two rods he used for training Pikachu from his bag. Ash side stepped the slow punch to the ground. He pivoted his foot and use all of his weight and the tips of his rods to ram as much power into a hit behind Snorlax's knee. Snorlax was already leaning heavily into the punch and fell face first into his own ice that frosted the ground. Snorlax growled dangerously.

Ash used the opportunity to jump into the air and landing with both of his rods hitting the joint on Snorlax's knee hard. Snorlax felt that one. Ash moved away from the Snorlax. He was thankful he did. Snorlax moved faster than Ash thought he could and tried to blindly swipe Ash with his claw. Ash moved his right rod to intercept and knock the hand up and away from him. The Snorlax barely gave any power to the hit. It was just looking for a lucky shot.

'Don't get mad at me because I decided to defend their home! You tore apart their shelter. Besides, you won't even get a bruise from that.' Ash moved both butt ends of the rods together. The lightning stones held on each end resonated and vibrate. The rods burst with electricity.

Snorlax finally stood and growled before he charged Ash. Ash slashed both rods together creating a bright light that blinded the pokemon. The young trainer side stepped Snorlax's missed charge. Ash needed as much momentum as possibly and started chasing after the missed attack and slammed both rods hard against Snorlax' leg. Electricity erupted from the rods before the charge they held finally expended completely. Snorlax collapsed to the ground.

Ash sighed. He was fortunate he did not completely drain them after his last session with Pikachu.

Ash stood waiting for the Snorlax to get up. The pokemon did get up but very slowly. Ash noted the time it took. Nearly ten seconds for the Snorlax to stand. 'You must have been coming here for years. You should know there are pokemon that live here. Why pointlessly tear up their homes?'

Snorlax growled before it opened its mouth. Ash rushed him already seeing this attack from many Gyrados. When Ash got close to Snorlax he threw one rod like a Javelin. Snorlax was still charging up his attack and used his arm to bat away the rod. Ash used the diversion to dive between the Snorlax's legs.

Ash used his last rod to jam it into the earth and pointed at the back of Snorlax's weakened leg. Snorlax tried to turn to fired his hyperbeam but the rod that stood in the dirt dug into the back of his leg this time with the force of his own weight. Snorlax yelped in pain and fell flat on his back. The hyperbeam was about to be fired.

Ash jumped on the massive pokemon's arm and ran up to Snorlax's face. The wild pokemon turned his head ready to fire the hyper beam. Ash slid across Snorlax wet furred chest and kicked as hard as he could to keep Snorlax's mouth shut. Snorlax's head tilted back slightly from the impact. It wasn't much but it was enough that Ash would not get hit. The Hyper Beam rumbled in the pokemon's half opened mouth. The force knocked Ash off Snorlax. Ash let himself roll on the ground hitting branches before he was stopped forcefully against a tree.

Ash rolled to his side. The air was knocked out of him and he wheezed. After preventing himself from hyperventilating from the lack of air he saw Snorlax begin to move. Ash looked around. Now would be a good time to run away. He literally had the anger knocked out of him.

Pidgeot cooed at him urgently. Ash was getting ready to mount the bird when Pidgeot knocked Ash off and looked at him like an idiot.

Ash would later blame it on the lack of oxygen that he did not even think to throw a pokeball at the Snorlax. Ash pulled one of of his backpack and threw it at the Snorlax. The massive pokemon was still trying to shake off his backfaired attack. Snorlax briefly looked to Ash as he turned to a red beam. Ash was breathing hard. He held his hand to his rib and he after a moment his wheeze faded. Five beeps passed before the pokeball stopped moving.

Ash coughed and finally released his other pokemon who all crowded around him to check to make sure he was safe. Pikachu nipped his ear and chittered angrily. Psyduck was all quacks as he pulled on Ash's shorts, very nearly pulling them off. Pidgeot huffed before flying to Snorlax' pokeball and carrying it back to Ash. Ash took the pokeball from his raised leg.

'Sorry guys. I got angry. Psyduck I know it was stupid you don't have to blast images of Gryados shooting pikachu to get the message across. But he was uprooting your family's home. I couldn't let him do that.'

Psyduck hugged Ash's leg very near in tears. Ash hugged all of his old team.

'Ok guys lets get to the beach so we can have some open room. We need to meet our new partner.' Ash walked tiredly with the group. The adrenalin had worn off and the pain form his injuries made themselves known to Ash. Ash flinched as he picked up the rods by the hilts. Ash inspected the rod that had dug into Snorlax's knee. The Thunderstone was shattered.

He looked to Pikachu.

'Ok buddy back up. I'm just going to clear the stone out of the rod here and not bother with taking it with us.' Ash got a knife out and slowly chipped out the remains of the stone that sat inside the rod's casing. Ash noted that there was a darker metal on the inside. It was almost like the rod was double dipped in several different metals. Ash made a note to ask Surge how these were made later. At least a replacement stone would not be hard, just expensive.

'Sorry Snorlax,' Ash said to the pokeball. Ash sat down on a jagged rock that was likely made from Snorlax's previous visit. Ash injected a powerful healing potion into the pokeball. Pikachu and Psyduck stood on either side of him. Ash palmed the pokeball. He was unsure of the mental state of his new pokemon. But he felt comforted by his team standing next to him.

'Come out Snorlax.'

'Snorrrrr' Snorlax roared before he fell on his rear. He looked at his leg and wiggled his toes. He looked up to Ash and waited. It looked like Ash shared the same look of curiosity as Snorlax did now that they both just stared at each other. Ash walked to the pokemon. He held some fruit in one hand and a spray solution in the other.

'Here Snorlax, take a snack while I check on your leg. We both did a number to it.'

Ash placed the fruit in front of Snorlax. The massive seven foot pokemon just continued to watch Ash. It made the boy self conscious as he went to Snorlax's leg. Ash sprayed his hand with the solution and then started to rub Snorlaxs leg. He started with the uninjured section before slowly making motions to the reddened and swollen parts of the knee. Snorlax growled. Psyduck quacked distantly behind Ash.

Ash suddenly felt a foreign sense of hesitation and fear. He looked up to Snorlax who was looking at him with open eyes. Ash closed his eyes and thanked Psyduck for the information.

'Just eat some fruit Snorlax, we are both hungry and irritable. I just want to make sure you have not had any serious injury before we take you to get looked at by Nurse Joy.' Snorlax looked cautiously at Ash to make sure he was not going to attack him. Finally he began to eat.

Ash ran more spray on the Pokemon's knee on the front shin and then the back of the knee. Ash scratched the Pokemon's leg and Snorlax relaxed into the motion. 'We probably will never train like that Snorlax. One wrong move and it would be over for either one of us. We were both lucky. I am sorry.'

Ash leaned his head on the Pokemon's arm. 'I was really angry and I let it get the best of me. I was very stupid to put my self in danger and for putting you through uncontrolled variables. I might not look like I could hurt you, but any miscalculation on my part could have maimed you for life. So, I am sorry. It will not happen again.' Ash felt his body tense as Snorlax lifted his arm. He felt Psyduck share the tension of the rest of his team. None of them were ready to trust the new comer just yet.

Snorlax lifted Ash and licked his face. Ash simply laughed in relief. Ash pushed off him just to look at Snorlax before giving the giant a hug. 'Thanks Snorlax.' Ash was set down by Snorlax and the two looked to the others.

Ash gestured his team to come closer. 'The one who told me I was an crazy to confront you is Pidgeot.' Pidgeot spread his wings and cooed at Snorlax. Snorlax opened and closed his paw in a wave. Ash grinned at the reaction. 'The little guy who likes to pull my shorts off is Psyduck. Psyduck say hello to Snorlax.' Psyduck waddled up to the Snorlax cautiously. Psyduck had seen this Snorlax run across his home for years. He had no idea this is what he actually looked like. His family just hid. Snorlax seemed to recognize the hesitation he slowly leaned forward and opened his eyes to really look at the duck pokemon. Snorlax gave a nearly inaudible 'Snor.' Before he sat back. Ash felt he some how apologized to Psyduck since Psyduck looked a lot more happier with Snorlax on the team, then he did moments before.

'And this little guy.' Ash gestured to Pikachu who sat on his shoulder. 'His name is Pikachu. He is my first pokemon. I think we all had a few stories on how we all met. But we can save those stories when we start camping . Let's get you to a pokemon center to get you checked out.' Snorlax happily agreed. He shoved one last piece of fruit in his mouth before Ash recalled him.

When he looked around to the rest of his team, he gave a nervous laugh. 'I think I'll just tell Misty Pikachu fought him. She'll believe that.'

-o-

Pidgeot did a circle around the small town before he found the pokemon center. Ash was happy to see they did have one. He was unsure if he would need to fly straight to Cinnabar to find the next poke center. Both him and Snorlax needed to be looked at.

Ash checked in and explained to Nurse Joy that he battled and caught Snorlax and wanted to check to make sure he was alright. Nurse Joy sighed at the boy before she took the pokemon and Ash to a back yard and had both of them sit down. This pokemon center was smaller than the ones Ash was used to. It was a narrow length of a building that had a hall with a row of seven rooms for trainers. Ash felt like the center received few trainers.

'Is it always this empty Nurse Joy?'

Nurse Joy smiled as she pointed to a spot to release Snorlax. 'Not really. You missed the mass of trainers earlier, they had come in during the summer months as an excuse to have a vacation on Pokemon League money.'

Ash scowled, 'What?'

Nurse Joy laughed at his reaction. 'No need to ruffle your feathers Ash. It is actually pretty normal. The Cinnabar Gym actually disappeared in response to it recently. Blaine had decided that he was not going to give trainers a reason to come out if they were going to abuse the system like that.'

Ash smiled. That sounded like the Blaine he spoke to. 'That's good to hear. How long ago did he disappear? I know Cinnabar is still a ways away.'

Nurse Joy laughed. 'Ash you are so far south, we are actually in a part called the Orange Islands. Cinnabar Island is north east about a good 4 hour boat ride.' Ash thought of Psyduck and sighed. He was pretty sure that he was going in the right direction, but maybe he was going more south than east before Psyduck found his family.

'Pidgeot could probably fly us there in a quarter of the time. So at least its near by. How is Snorlax?'

Ash had not really been paying attention to Snorlax's treatment. But that was mostly because the giant pokemon was asleep with his leg happily twitched to Nurse Joy's hands.

'We are just about done. It looks like nothing was seriously injured. Tendons and bones look good. One good long period in the Pokemon Center recovery unit for maybe nineteen hours should do it. He was actually having constant exhaustion from aerobic exorcise. His lung capacity is huge for his kind. And a pretty large chest too. I wounder how he developed those? Its usually the legs that are stronger.'

Ash looked at Snorlax. He thought of the pokemon swimming and laughed. 'I wonder. Thanks Nurse Joy. Can you just take a look at my arm? I had a good hard hit on it and its still sore.'

Nurse joy ran soft hands across his arms and ended up checking his lungs and chest as well. Ash did not know it at the time, but he developed a nice blue bruise that ran across his back from where he landed against the tree.

'Well Ash, you will need to rest more than your Snorlax. Try not to move too fast or move anything heavy for a few days to let your muscles heal. You don't want to agitate it any more.'

Ash nodded. He was annoyed. Snorlax looked pretty friendly and Ash was ready to see what he could do. Ash then thought about his damaged stone. 'Nurse Joy is there a place around here that sells a thunderstone?'

Nurse joy looked at him curiously. 'No unfortunately. Those are pretty rare. You would have to go to a bigger city to find if anyone sells one. If you get to Cinnabar Island you may find a seller.'

Ash gave a grunt in disappointment.

-o-

Ash lamented the lack of stone in the rod. Ash cursed at himself. It was a stupid move to use them as weapons. But it was not the end of the world.

Ash let himself rest on a park bench. His chest ached and he breathing was slowly getting more labored. He coughed for a second before letting himself relax. He had wanted to get some air but was surprised how little he actually moved before he had to rest.

'Ok I think I am done walking for now.' Ash felt Psyduck watch him the entire time. So Ash was not surprised when he snapped his fingers. A moment later Psyduck was standing beside him. His arms were at his sides and his eyes were focused on Ash. 'Do you think you can teleport us to the pokemon center? I think I am going to take it easy.'

Psyduck took his hand and simply did it. Ash smiled at the progress. Psyduck looked like he did it with little to no effort. 'Good Job Psyduck. I did not even feel the blip when we jumped.'

Psyduck sighed at him before pushing his trainer into the building. Ash laughed before he was led to a chair and Psyduck joined him to watch TV. Pikachu ran down the hall and squealed. 'Pikapi!' Pikachu skidded to a halt and sat in front of Ash.

'Hey little guy. Yeah, I couldn't make it back on my own. We'll definitely need to try and make sure we can arc electricity again once we get a replacement but some of our exorcises are going to be put on hold.' Pikachu nodded and sat next to Psyduck.

'Psyduck?' Psyduck quacked at Ash. Ash sighed at his pokemon.

'Pass me the remote, I am not staring at scan lines and reception snow.'

-o-

Ash woke up from a light doze. The window was open and a slight breeze wafted in. Feeling slightly better after a bit of a nap, Ash stood and stretched the stiffness out of his neck. Finally deciding he had been putting it off long enough he went over to the communication terminals and dialed in Misty's number.

Four minutes passed with no answer. Ash frowned but opened a channel to leave a message. It was the first time he did not get through to her for a chat.

Ash honestly didn't know how to feel about that.

'Hey Misty! I missed you! I am in some spot called the Orange Islands. I made a detour to find Psyducks family. He was happy to see them. I also got a new pokemon! A Snorlax. I'll go into the details when I call you next time. I'll be heading off to Cinnabar island soon. I miss you!'

Ash leaned back and sighed. His chest hurt from talking with so much energy. But he couldn't help it. Talking to Misty had always energized him. He wanted to send that energy to her in that message.

Ash got up and flinched slightly at the pain in his back.

'I really should just let this heal.'

-o-

The next day Ash released Snorlax late in the afternoon. Snorlax looked around alert. Ash waved at him. 'Good afternoon Snorlax, how do you feel?'

'Snorr!' Snorlax announced cheerfully.

'Good. I am still recovering my tumble against the tree. I plan to train you soon. But first I want you to watch the other members of our team. We have been very successful. So much of it was because they all listen to how I want them to move and how to think for themselves. You fought me yesterday but you could not hit me.' The large pokemon nodded as his sat down and looked at the other members. They had all taken positions across from each other.

'Your movements are instinctual. I am going to show you how to think and how to use everything around you as a weapon.'

Snorlax's fight weighed heavy in Ash's mind.

Snorlax patiently watched as Pikachu got into position. Pidgeot and Psyduck stood across from him.

'Snorlax you are built for strength not speed. So I want you to watch the team and think about how you would stop someone who moves so fast.'

'Snor-lax.' Ash tilted his head and smiled at the big guy.

'I know you will. Guys start it one at a time. One hit attacks. You start Pidgeot.'

Pidgeot took to the air and dove at Pikachu with a wing extended. Pikachu dove over Pidgeot's wing and burst into speed for a quick attack to Psyduck.

Psyduck disappeared and teleported over to Pidgeot who had pulled up and banked around to the group. Psyduck focused a mental attack on the flying bird. Pidgeot knew the attack was coming and found the last spot Pikachu stopped.

Pidgeot felt his mind being a jumbled mess of dizzying skies and grounds. He focused on the feeling of his wings flapping in rhythm and launched a gust attack at Pickachu's last position.

Pikachu dove into the gust and used the force of the air to launch himself into the air. He fired a thunder shock at Psyduck who used a light screen to reflect it back at Pidgeot. The change in concentration from the mental attack allowed Pidgeot a few seconds to reorient himself before he had the awareness enough to move and not crash in a ball of off balanced feathers.

Pidgeot avoided the rebound attack and did a somersault in the air before flapping his wings down hard launching invisible bursts of air of his razor wind attack.

Snorlax looked at the pattern of attack, dodge, and redirection. His eyes were open and he took everything in.

Ash exhaled with a slight wheeze. 'Don't look away from them. But listen.' Snorlax grunted not willing to turn away from such a fast display.

Ash stay silent for a moment to really think about what he wanted to say to Snorlax. Each of his pokemon was different when he got them. But Snorlax was not just different. Snorlax capture was dangerous for a number of reasons. The biggest was the fight they had. Ash knew Snorlax was trying to hurt him. And Snorlax knew Ash was trying to hurt him.

Snorlax must have known Ash had not originally planned to capture him. Pidgeot firmly believed that Ash could be a little bit absent minded, but Ash demonstrated the heights of it when he did not consider capturing Snorlax after nearly getting killed. Ash smiled at the larger pokemon. While Snorlax could not see Ash look at him. Snorlax could definitely feel Ash's presence.

'You will learn to do that soon too. Pidgeot started only months ago. You already know the attacks I think would benefit you the most. Now its all about trust. Can we build a trust in each other to not injure each other or ourselves again. Can you trust my instructions both during training and in battle. Can you follow me? But the most important question is, can you trust yourself?' Snorlax's ears twitched at the question.

'You understand what I am saying Snorlax? It will be a lot of work in a very short amount of time. But if you can trust your self and trust in me Snorlax, we can do the most amazing things on the battle field.'

-o-

Pidgeot flew the entire three hours in a single trip. Ash actually spent most of his time thinking about Snorlax. He had a few ideas how to work with the sleepy pokemon. But he would need to completely change how he trains his pokemon to accommodate the unexpected member. Ash exhaled and already nodded on a course of action.

Ash finally snapped out of his thoughts. A island far larger than the ones they had flown by started to appear on the horizon. Ash hoped that was it. This one definitely had a massive volcano. 'Pidgeot, do you think you have the energy for one last burst?'

Pidgeot screeched in agreement. Ash laughed and made sure he was secure. 'Go for it!' Ash leaned heavily into the birds neck. Pidgeot was a far cry from how fast that Pidgeot that flew him to Vermillion was, but Ash didn't mind. That kind of speed was a very specialized skill.

Ash and Pidgeot landed at the pokemon center after Pidgeot glided a few circles around the town to get a better look of the area. The town was not allowed to grow very large. The island town took up most of the flat land with no other room to allow it to expand. But that did not mean many of the buildings did not grow skyward. Ash whistled at a few of the towers that were larger than the Pokemon Tower near Lavender Town. Most buildings did not even get that tall in major cities Ash has seen. Ash wondered how fast the wind was here if they could stand that tall.

Ash got down from Pidgeot's saddle and felt his legs groan in pain. The trip was long for the both of them. Pidgeot poked at Ash's belt. 'Alright. Thanks buddy I'll send you in to get some rest and fed with the others in a second.'

Ash walked in after Pidgeot was recalled and he made sure he put away Pidgeot's saddle properly. His rods were secured to his belt with the one pommel a grim reminder he needed to find a replacement stone or put it away so the rings on the inside don't get worn or damaged.

Inside Ash greeted the Nurse joy and placed Pidgeot's pokeball in the tray. The nurse joy took the pokeball. 'Excuse me Nurse Joy?'

'How can I help you?'

'I am looking for the Cinnabar Gym. Do you know where it is? I heard from another Nurse joy on a south island that he had closed or moved it. She was kind of unsure of which it was.'

The woman gave him a suspicious look before she went to her computer. 'May I have your ID?'

Ash smiled already seeing what she was doing. 'It's 02740-k. My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. I met Blaine briefly in Vermillion.'

Nurse Joy smiled at him. 'Ah I see. I was not sure when you would come in, but Blaine did want you to have this letter as soon as you checked in.'

Ash took the letter and thanked the nurse. Ash went to his room and sat down. He released Psyduck and Pikachu. 'Don't fight over the remote.'

Ash noticed this place had a screen door with a patio. Ash frowned at the patio. He looked up his pokedex. 'Snorlax weights just over twelve hundred pounds. That's like tweleve of me. That should be strong enough. Come on out Snorlax!'

Snorlax was released out of his pokeball and layed on the patio deck already asleep. Ash waited to see if the patio would collapse but it held steady. Ash smiled at him and walked inside. 'Hey guys I got a letter from Blaine, our next gym leader, did you want me to read this to you?'

'Pika!''Psy!'

Ash sat on the bed and both of his pokemon hopped up beside him to look at the letter over his shoulders.

'Ash, Thank you for coming down to take my gym challenge. Before you come in, I heard you had not taken a fourth pokemon. You will not need to take four for my battle. For my ten badge battle I only have 3 that would qualify for regulation. But you will need to bring three with you. It will be one on one fights. You only need to win two of the battles. My gym is a fire based gym. Plan accordingly. I will have guests watching our fight. Make a good showing. Ash when you are ready send a reply to Nurse Joy and we will start a week after your ready date. We will need time for the observers to arrive.'

Ash stared at the letter and thought back to an old conversation with Misty. 'Well we can't say we didn't see these fights coming. A fire gym. We'll start getting all of us ready to fight and I'll choose which pokemon are going to fight. I want to have Snorlax be one of the picks. But I don't want to be here longer than a month. We'll just see how training looks like in a week.'

Snorlax had been looking up at them once his name was mentioned. Ash smiled at him. 'That's right big guy. If we can find something that meshes us together really well we will have your debut gym fight really soon.'

Snorlax cheered with a loud 'Laaaaax' before rolling over and falling asleep. Ash smiled and already was thinking of calling Professor Oak to figure out what to feed him.

-o-

The brief chat with Professor Oak was interesting. He even got an update about Gary. Apparently Gary was having problem with his ninth badge. Professor Oak stated it had more to do with a recently evolved Nidoking rather than the difficulty of the gym itself. Ash smiled at the update thankful to hear Gary is doing alright.

Ash started looking at Poke puffs rather than straight berries and pokeblocks for Snorlax. While Snorlax is able to eat a lot of food. He actually does not need to. Most of the food is stored and metabolized over months. It is actually why the species gets so fat.

The pokepuffs would help Snorlax feel full and still feed him the necessary nutrients for a journey. Ash was happy to hear that as he could already for see himself going broke just from Snorlax's stomach. Ash had to talk to the Nurse as well to request permission for an extended stay. Usually you are only welcomed at a PokeCenter for no more than two weeks. Ash was not sure if he would be ready in that time.

The nurse had him fill out a form and explaining the extenuating circumstances for the stay. Ash was thankful that he could. Staying in one place for so long was going to drain his resources. Ash did find a few trainers in town to battle against. But there were not that many on the island to recover the loss of spending so much money for a saddle and to save up for a thunderstone.

Ash shrugged those thoughts away. He held both rods in his hands and looked over to his team. They all gathered in the forest near a small lake. 'We are going to take this slow. Pikachu I want you to finish the one exorcise we started back on the way to Fuchsia. With no usable second rod I won't be much help to you. Sorry buddy.'

Pikachu cha'ed and ran down the water side to find a safe spot.

'Pidgeot I want you to start getting used to flying low with a constant change in air pressure. If we fight in a place that has a lot of heat, the air pressure is going to make it hard on you. Fly over the water as low as you feel comfortable. Psyduck you are on watch duty. Watch for Pidgeot, and watch to make sure I don't get hurt with Snorlax. It's one on one training for him.'

The group flinched but they knew it would not be as dangerous as the first time Ash fought the Snorlax.

Snorlax looked at Ash and the rods. 'Ok first things first Snorlax. These are not made to be weapons. They are actually used to help me guide everyone with how I want them to move. You will be largely on your own in fights. There are times where you will have to think about what the next move would be after I give you instructions. So this will help you think and do the moves with the highest success.'

Ash raised a single rod towards Snorlax's fist. Snorlax felt himself take a hesitated step forward. He remember those rods. 'It's about earning trust Snorlax. If you don't feel ready then we don't have to use the rods.'

Snorlax moved forward and touched the rod. Ash smiled approvingly at him. 'Alright when you showed me your ice punch you leaned heavily into the punch. That's partly because the length of your arms. But here this will help you keep balance.' Ash used the rod to move Snorlax Fist at an angle away from his body.

'Move your feet this way.'

Ash mirrored Snorlax's position and slowly turned it so Snorlax could see. Snorlax unsteadily changed into the new position. 'Good.' Ash move his hand to the Pokemon's fist and nothing happen Ash grinned at Snorlax and jumped on to his fist and held on tightly. The pokemon did not even budge.

Ash laughed and let his feet dangle. Snorlax gave a small laugh himself.

Where the other position was liable to make the pokemon fall over. This position Snorlax felt more weight on his front foot but did not feel himself loose balance. Snorlax grunted his understanding.

'Alright, We'll go through all the basics today.' Ash announced and jumped off Snorlax's fist.

-o-

Ash found he was relieved that the rods bothered him more than Snorlax. Snorlax seemed to adapt right into his roll as Ash's training partner. Ash was happy to see he had gained Snorlax's respect when he first fought him. Snorlax seemed to be content to eat and just be active. Ash was tempted to look into the species when he get's back to Pallet Town. He had never heard of an active Snorlax before. This Snorlax seemed right at home running around and swimming.

'Pikachu dart him. Test his range.'

Pikachu burst into a renewed burst of speed. Snorlax stomped his foot to disrupt Pikachu's footing and punched the floor to uproot the ground that was loosened from his stomp.

'Hold!' Ash called as Snorlax was a little too happy with the hit. He had knocked himself over with that hit. Ash laughed with Snorlax as he rolled on his stomach to get back up. 'Good job Snorlax. You have more than enough energy in your stomp. We want to try and out last your opponent so we will need you to learn to pace yourself. We are going to rotate the whole team against you so you can get an idea of what I am talking about. Pikachu one more time. Pidgeot you will be next. Psyduck is last. Snorlax just try to block and counter attack. Look for the openings I pointed out to you. I'll give you calls if you miss something important.'

Snorlax got into position and growled eagerly.

'That's the energy we are looking for Snorlax.'

Ash looked at the time. Training for three weeks was his limit. And Snorlax was looking consistent enough to open for the gym battle.

Snorlax parried Pikachu's tackle and immediately threw a mega punch at Pidgeot who had did anticipated the attack from Snorlax. He paid for it with Snorlax's counter punch.

Psyduck caught both Pidgeot and Pikachu in mid air and set them down. He used his mind to crumple the earth around Snorlax. Snorlax jumped up and stomped the ground. It was enough to break Psyduck's concentration.

Snorlax was about to charge before Pikachu slapped him with his tail and launched a thundershock that flashed several hits in under four seconds. Snorlax grunted and stepped back before he planted his foot. He showed his own agility to pivot quickly to backhand Pikachu.

Pikachu landed and skidded to a halt. 'Pikah!' He snarled.

Pidgeot threw a gust then a tornado at Snorlax. Snorlax inhaled before he vomited a Hyper beam just strong enough to dissipate the attacks.

Ash smiled. 'That's what he was looking for!' Snorlax's had demonstrated a critical eye for control all week.

It looked like the team was ready.

A/n: And another chapter is out. I have a pretty good idea what I am doing for my gym stories. But these chapters in between seem to write them selves. I had not honestly expected for Snorlax to become one of Ash's pokemon. I think I may need to restrain my self to one chapter a week. Its become a very useful tool to have so many chapters ahead of what is being released. It's way easier to plan around things that have not been official parts of the story. Or just add touch ups based on what a theme for another chapter touches on down the road. Until next time guys!


	9. Chapter 9: Lessons Never Learned

Chapter 9

Ash stood on the balcony in his private room. Apparently the Cinnabar Gym doubled as a hotel. The view over looked the sunny town. His room was directly above a water fall on the mountain. It reminded him of the view from Koga's gym. He smiled as he walked in from the balcony.

Ash was invited to stay at the gym for the remaining time on the island now that he had set a time for his gym battle. Blaine's gym was the biggest gym he had seen. The halls were carved right into the mountain rock side. He walked to the viewers box to look at the gym field. Apparently this field had more than one set of boxed seats to protect viewers from the heat and lava flows that may erupt.

Ash looked at the suspended island that was the gym field. Ash frowned when ever he saw it. It seemed a little over the top when he looked at the river of lava that ran beneath it. Ash immediately thought of the memorial of pokemon that died during gym battles. None of them had died from field hazards, but it was still something he felt he should worry about.

When Ash first looked at the massive stadium he realized it was the one he had watched on TV during professional tournaments when he was younger. The stadium nestled itself deep in Cinnabar's volcano. The gym field had no obstacles and little options to use the environment. During his stay he would find himself stare at the gym floor. He could spend the entire day there if Pikachu or Psyduck did not go look for him.

Ash explored the gym for the past few days. Blaine had been a good companion the first night but he had to leave for the next few days. Ash thought the man was very busy for him to disappear for days at a time. He saw a few of the man's students wondering the halls and Ash was able to make a few good conversations with a few of them. But they all kept their distance.

They knew Ash was there to beat their leader. It did not endear him to them. Ash thought of Kelly and wondered how she had been so friendly since she knew he was on his way to Celadon to fight Erika.

Ash was eager to meet these guests Blaine's hinted in his letter. Blaine himself said he would find out soon. Ash frowned at the response.

Pikachu had come in a run up to him and jumped on his shoulder. 'Where have you been? I didn't even noticed you took off until after I left the room.'

Pikachu stuck his tongue at Ash and didn't say a thing. He jumped off his trainers shoulder and waved his paw for Ash to follow. Ash smiled and followed his partner down the hall. Apparently Pikachu had been exploring an area he had not found. The building went deeper into the mountain. Ash followed the length where he found the trainers quarters who trained under Blaine and then another exit out of the mountain.

This one pointed outside and away from the town. Pikachu ran out and around the grass. Ash laughed and understood. The team had been cramped for the past few days. While they all trained lightly at the gym to get used to the heat, Ash really had not ventured outside into the tropical jungle that was half of the island.

'Come on out!' Snorlax landed with a thud and yawned. Psyduck stood next to Ash only to begin to look around their surroundings. Pidgeot immediately took to the air.

Ash explored the woods until he found a stream. 'Looks like we found that stream the water fall feeds to.' Ash took off his shirt and dove in. His team soon followed. The group spent the rest of the afternoon in the water.

After getting out of the water Ash could feel something bothering Psyduck. 'Whats wrong Psyduck?'

Psyduck gripped his head and banged his hand against one side. _Pain_.

Ash frowned but noticed this did not look like one of Psyduck's usual headaches. 'Is it your whole head?'

Psyduck gripped his head and kept his eyes closed. He shook his head and patted his right side. _Not me_.

'Let's get you inside and into a pokeball recovery unit.'

Psyduck quacked and the group packed up. Psyduck walked on his own but Ash watched him carefully. He was worried that this seemed different from the head aches he received before. As the group got deeper into the cave entrance Psyduck became more relaxed. Eventually half way up the stairs Psyduck announced. _Fade. Gone._

Ash huh'ed at that. 'Psyduck I am going to recall you for a second.'

Ash returned Psyduck in a flash of red light. Ash had noticed early on when they first got on the island that Psyduck would hold one hand in the same position he did just this afternoon. But he never said he was in pain.

Ash was followed by a curious Pikachu as he went back outside. Ash stood just outside the entrance he had just walked in. He looked at his pokeball. 'Sorry Psyduck.'

Ash released Psyduck who immediately flinched and clung his hand to his head. It was the exact same position and exact same place. 'I am really sorry just hang on.' Ash recalled Psyduck and ran back in. He started making his way to the pokeball recovery bay. Half way down he released Psyduck.

Psyduck kept his eyes shut and bracing himself for a headache. 'Duck?'

Psyduck looked around and moved his hand off his head. He walked around completely pain free. Ash stared at his pokemon for a brief moment. Something was causing Psyduck's headache. But it was not penetrating the mountain.

-o-

Ash stood in the stadium looking up at windows that lined the top of the stadium. Quietly to himself he murmured, 'That's where the audience will sit. At least I don't have to see their reactions.'

Ash released his pokemon and turned to them.

Ash smiled as they all looked around and had similar reactions to him. Snorlax looked around lazily. He grunted in disappointment when he wasn't about to fight yet.

'I have decided who we are going to go with today. Snorlax. You are first. Psyduck you are second. Pikachu, you are cleaning up last. Pidgeot be prepared to be on stand by. If I see a pokemon that may be a bad match up for any one you may be an alternate. We get second reveal in every bout so we may need to change it up. This is as much for you guys as it is for me. This is the first gym we will win as a team. We no longer have the luxury to test what works and what doesn't. The final three gyms will be a team effort. Lets start with a strong first showing.' The group cheered in agreement.

Ash recalled them all and looked over to the other side. Blaine had not shown up, but Ash could feel the eyes on him while he waited. He was not sure what to make of it all. Blaine said he would have some guests to watch the gym. It felt like this was a crowd for some kind of finals not for a gym battle. Ash remembered what Lieutenant Surge said. All three of them Koga, Surge and Blaine were war buddies. They all had battle experienced pokemon that exceed the usual gym leader pokemon. Ash frowned thinking of the two that Surge showed. His two buddies seemed to be worn down. Sure they were strong. But Surge even said Raichu should be ready to retire.

Ash thought of pikachu years from now looking like that and shuddered. It was way too soon to even think about things like that. Ash chased away those thoughts and knelt down and waited. The match would begin soon and he wanted to think of outcomes.

-o-

'I still wanted to surprise him before the start of the matches.' Misty pouted.

'You know that would have made him loose focus little sis. Let him do what he always does. You can say hi to him later.' Daisy gave her youngest sister a sly wink.

Misty grounded her teeth and glared at her sister. 'Daisy, I swear. We talk. I might have you just listen to a call so you can believe me.'

Daisy looked at her sister and knew it was true. 'Sure but that doesn't mean something won't happen later. You're young.' Daisy gave her sister a pouty look with eye lashes blinking widely to accentuate the point.

Misty sighed and rolled her eyes. She looked around and recognized a few people that showed. She bit her lip before she walked over to the one man she had not formally met.

The man had his black hair slicked back. He sat comfortably in a leather chair and looked on patiently while a waiter served him wine. Misty had heard of this man before. He was the strongest of the gym leaders. He ran his own private business that dealt with international trade of pokemon products and he has made his livelyhood based on the new talent that walked through his doors. Promising young trainers who defeat him in were often given offers for positions in his company. High positions of authority were not above a trainers' grasp if Giovanni approved.

'Good afternoon. We have not been formally introduced. My name is Misty Waterflower. I am the Cerulean Gym Leader. It is nice to meet you.'

Giovanni smiled to the young girl and stood up. 'The pleasure is mine Misty. You may just call me Giovanni. The new generation has many promising trainers. You and Brock have been an inspiration for young trainers every where.'

Misty blushed at the praise. 'Thank you sir. I still have a long way to go before I can properly compete on the same level you do every year.'

Giovanni smiled before gesturing her to sit with him. She sat down on a leather seat next to his. 'I was surprised when I first heard of Ash Ketchum. I had not paid as much attention as I should to gym leader matters. A lesson Erika had learned recently from the incident report I read.'

Misty sighed but nodded. 'Yes. I read the same thing. Mr. Ketchum must of felt strongly for him to react so rashly. He was extremely collected when he faced me for his gym battle.'

'That kind of temper is dangerous if he lets it go.' Giovanni frowned.

Misty giggled. 'I heard you hire from your gym battles. Does Ash not seem to fit into a possible candidate?'

Giovanni shook his head in amusement. 'Actually that kind of brash thinking is what I am looking for. Someone who can think outside of the norm as it were. He has shown that is something he is very adept in. But I don't think he would be satisfied with any job I could offer.'

Misty nodded in agreement. 'I would think not. He seemed very motivated in the now. He started nearly a month late from the open season. He had been working hard to catch up. I am curious if he will loose this momentum now that he can afford to slow down.'

Giovanni nodded in understanding. 'We'll just have to wait and see when he comes to my gym then.'

-o-

Blaine walked onto the stadium floor. He wore a tropical shirt and shades. His white hair flared to the sides with nothing covering his bald head like the night of the gyrados defensive.

'Good afternoon Blaine.' Ash called as the older man walked up to his spot as the defender.

'Thank you for indulging me Ash. I can understand how frustrating it is to wait for so long. All three of your remaining gym leaders were asked to be alerted so they may present your gym battle to League trainers. Koga does not have the ability to host it. And Giovanni is very protective of his gym.' Blaine looked to a specific viewing box.

Ash resisted to follow his gaze, instead he decided to stay focused on Blaine.

'I would like to meet and talk to everyone. I do not get much feed back from my battles.'

Blaine smiled. 'You will get some today. They are here to learn from you Ash. This will be a three round gym battle. As gym leader I release my pokemon first and you get one minute to decide on yours. There will be no switch outs. Both sides choose a different pokemon per round. Any questions?'

'None. I am ready for the first round.'

'Tinder. Wave like a flame' Blaine opened a pokeball and a large Ninetails stood beside him. The shine of the fox made it almost reflective in the deep red fire light. The fox bounded gracefully over the rocks to the gym field.

Ash took out his pokedex and read about the pokemon in his one minute reprieve. It was unfortunate there is no real place to scan and learn about a mass amount of fire pokemon. He would need to use every minute before each fight to formulate his moves. Ash looked around the arena before nodding to himself.

'Snorlax, it's time to have some fun!'

Snorlax's red beam hit the gym floor. He roared in anticipation. His fists in the air and a confident gaze facing the fire pokemon.

Ash saw a small platform to the side. A referee stood on it with two flags and stared down the over field below him. Ash actually had no idea what the platform's use was until the referee showed. Well that was one curiosity out of the way.

'Begin!' Shouted the referee.

Right as the referee gave the call Ash ordered. 'Snorlax, watergun a path.' The water gun lanced throuhg the field in a quick spray that watered the gym field in half. Snorlax turned the shot of water towards Tinder to force the Ninetails out of the way. Tinder nimbly dodge the attack. 'Ice punch the lane!' Ash called.

Snorlax dropped to one knee as soon as he finished his water gun. Frost energy gathered in his hand just before he punched the water on the ground. The water helped guide the ice along the gym sprouting a wall that divided the gym. Snorlax kept feeding energy into it to make it as strong as possible.

Blaine saw Snorlax kneel with his raised fist and called, 'Tinder, Firespin, he isn't going to move!'

Tinder shot a stream of fire that circled Snorlax unmoving form while he fed the ice wall to keep it up through the intense heat of the gym. Snorlax worked best when there were obstacles he could work against. When Snorlax stood he jumped into the air on his own and did a body slam to the ground. The suspended island shook but the chunks of ice below him shattered into fine dust breaking the circle of flames.

'Hyper Beam.' Called Ash. From his face down position, Snorlax snapped his head up and fired a weak but fast collected hyper beam at Tinder forcing Blaine's pokemon to back up and dodge away from Snorlax. '

'Tinder use the ice wall for higher ground.' Tinder yiped in understanding and ran on the tall ice wall out of Snorlax's view.

Ash could still see where it was. 'Snorlax move to your left, blind swipe it.'

Snorlax used agility rarely shown by larger pokemon and used both of his feet to hop to the left and moved his arm to blindly swipe where he had been. Tinder gave a yip in pain.

'Headbutt. Rebound and take down.' Blaine said quickly. He looked around trying to see what Ash would do.

'Snorlax take the hit. Megakick.' Snorlax stood his ground and grunted against the heavy hit. Tinder was a lot heavier than he expected. He had already gathered the energy into his leg and it snapped up into Tinder's ribcage.

Another grunt from Blaine's pokemon.

Snorlax looked at the pokemon and saw the wall behind Tinder. With out any urging he grabbed the pokemon and used the take down move Ash showed him to slam the fox against the ice wall.

That portion of the ice wall broke from the impact. Ash stared at Blaine's pokemon. With out warning Tinder bashed her skull against Snorlax. Snorlax reeled from the hit and stepped back.

'Tinder, flame thrower.' Blaine called.

Snorlax turned its head and blindly shot a water gun in a wave to hit Tinder.

Blaine's pokemon dodged and fired the flame thrower. Snorlax was coming to his senses enough to dodge the blast and move behind the ice wall for cover.

'Good job Snorlax, he's coming over the wall to your right.' Snorlax fired a low powered Hyperbeam with what little energy he could gather so quickly. It was enough for Tinder to back up again.

'Tinder, confuse him.'

Tinder burst into a sprint around the wall and fanned its tails. Snorlax saw the other pokemon move before it started feeling a massive headache.

'Lax,' Snorlax went to a knee and gripped it's head.

'Snorlax rest.' Snorlax allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep despite the pain.

'Tinder, its our chance, pour it on him.' Tinder focused more energy into the mental attack.

'Snorlax Amnesia.' Snorlax's body relaxed even more. Where before it looked like it was in pain sleeping, now it had a relaxed restful smile. 'Snorlax bide your time remember what your body feels when you wake up.'

Blaine gave a grim look to his pokemon. 'Tinder, Flame thrower, we have to knock him out before he wakes up.' Tinder quickly jumped to the edge of the ring and started channeling energy before releasing a stream of fire. Her tails fanned out and waved focusing continuous amounts of fire at Snorlax. Snorlax grimaced and grunted.

Tinder stopped to refocus to send another wave. 'Wake up!' Ash called urgently.

Snorlax opened his eyes before he grunted in pain. He turned to Tinder and opened his mouth in a roar. The energy that was released hit Tinder and knocked the pokemon off their feet. The Ninetails was slammed against a part of the ice wall. The wall only held for a moment before the fire fox broke through it. Tinder skidded to a halt. Tinder tried to stay standing but collapsed.

Ash looked to Snorlax and cheered. Snorlax looked worn from the fire and the mental attacks, but he still stood tall. 'Good job there Snorlax.'

'Winner of the first round goes to Snorlax.' The referee called. Ash recalled Snorlax.

'Very nice job Tinder. You had him to rights before that bide.' Blaine ran a thumb over Tinder's pokeball affectionately. He put it away and looked over to Ash. 'Alright Ash, here is my second pokemon. Sulfur, bring forth a cloud of fire.'

Sulfur turned out to be a pokemon Ash never saw before. He looked at it with his pokedex. 'Huh, a Magmar.'

After reading the entry Ash looked at the ice. It finally began to melt. Ash needed more time to let the barrier that divided the room to clear for Psyduck. Ash frowned realizing Psyduck needed line of sight to use his teleport effectively. Just before the minute passed, Ash released Psyduck. 'Psyduck let's go.' Psyduck immediately cast amnesia on himself and began to float in the air. Psyduck stared at Sulfur with blank eyes.

Ash felt the tendril's of Psyducks mind reach for him. 'Not today bud. I'll need your full focus on this guy. We can not allow him to touch you.' Psyduck quacked.

The referee called, 'Begin!'

'Bubblebeam.' Ash called. Psyduck launched a mass of fast moving bubbles that curved around the ice and flowed over the field.

'Flame thrower.' Blaine called. A vacuum sound came from Blaine's pokemon, Sulfur, before it spewed out a breath of flame that matched the bubble beam's width of the field. Ash saw the ice begin to melt.

'Use the ice.' Psyduck stoped firing his bubble beam and turned his blank eyes to the melting ice wall. Chunks of ice broke off and lanced themselves towards Sulfur.

'Fire punch.' Blaine called. Sulfur gripped his fists and balls of fire half the size of Sulfur enveloped his arms. Sulfur punched the ice lances which exploded with every contact of heat. The fire fists were large enough to protect Sulfur with each explosion of water vapor.

'Focus Sulfur.' The Magmar gripped his fists and the pokemon engulfed itself in fire. Waves of light distorted around Sulfur.

'Psyduck shake him. Make him sweat.' Psyduck entered Sulfur's mind and gripped on the other pokemon's ability to move. Sulfur found himself unable to move from his focused position. Blaine called several moves. Sulfur tried, but was no longer able to do a thing. He was stuck only standing still and continue to build up power.

Psyduck opened his mouth and launched a mass of water far stronger than any water gun he used before. He knew what Ash was preparing for.

Sulfur groaned as it was bathed in water. The water evaporated on contact turning him into a plume of scalding steam.

'Sulfur smog it up!' Sulfur spewed a cloud from his mouth. It covered the field dirting the ice and traveling towards Psyduck.

'Let him go, bubble the smog.' Ash was not sure what it did, but it was moving with a purpose to Psyduck. Psyduck launched bubbles that enveloped the smog.

'Fire punch.' Sulfur recovered enough to start charging after Psyduck. He popped the bubbles on the way to release the gas. Sulfur grunted in pain with each burst of explosive water vapor but continued on heedless of the damage. The smog released and spread quickly. Psyduck teleported himself straight up into the air just as Sulfur came out of the smog clouds.

'Lock it!' Ash called. Psyduck used his mind to hold himself in place.

'Hydropump the field.' Ash called looking intently for the Magmar as Sulfur let himself get enveloped into the smog to hide his position.

'Take aim and fire when you are ready Sulfur.' Ash did not look to see where Blaine was looking. It was unlikely he knew where his pokemon was in that mass either.

Psyduck cleared out the smog. The water washed away the sooty clouds and steam rose out from outside the ring as the water hit the lava below them. The steam burst in one final cloud as the last huge puddle was pushed over the edge. Ash saw Sulfur charging for a very large attack.

'Psyduck, lightscreen.' The heat of the fire blast nearly engulfed Psyduck but the shield took shape and held against the attack. Ash was beginning to sweat from the heat. Ash looked at the wall of ice from the start of the gym battle. It was just about melted.

'Good job Psyduck. Switch.' Psyduck looked at the Magmar for a second and the world blinked around the both of them. Psyduck looked at Sulfur who was now suspended in the air. Psyduck began to breath heavily. He had never used so many water moves as he did in this fight. But he had it in him for a one more.

'Psy!' Psyduck cried. Psyduck inhaled, then with another world jarring tilt he teleported above Sulfur. Psyduck released him to teleport into position. Sulfur began to free fall. Psyduck expelled all of his energy into one final hydropump.

'Sulfur seismic toss!' Sulfur agilely swung his heavy tail to give him a few precious seconds of air in time to grab Psyduck.

Sulfur punched _hard_ into Psyducks stomach effectively breaking the water move. Psyduck panicked and cried in alarm. His amnesia broke and the first real signs of emotion swept through him.

Magmar squeezed the water pokemon tightly and prepared for the impact with the ground. Pain seared through Psyduck as he flailed to try and escape the burning grip.

Ash moved his hand quickly to one side.

*snap*

Psyduck simply closed his eyes and teleported. He trusted his instincts and he found himself skidding to a halt on the gym floor in time to see Sulfur hit the ground with a heavy thud.

He waited to see if Sulfur would stand. Psyduck was exhausted. He tried to keep standing up but after several seconds passed Psyduck fell to his rear and leaned forward. His breathing was haggard.

Ash looked over both pokemon. 'Winner of the bout, Psyduck.'

Ash looked proudly to Psyduck. The duck had only one eye opened and was still breathing. Ash knew psyduck was spent when he reached for his head. He could no longer hold back his headache. Psyduck had enough energy to send him the image of Gyrados, then quickly shifted to a memory where he pulled in his powers for the first time.

'I know Psyduck. You are completely spent. Nice job. Return.' Psyduck was gratefully sucked into his pokeball to sleep. He will find out the results later.

Blaine recalled his pokemon. 'This is it then. I have to say I am enjoying this Ash. Not many pokemon can actually withstand the attacks from my veterans.'

'They are very strong. Either of the last two fights could have gone either way.'

Ash smiled at Blaine. This had been a fun gym battle. Ash noticed the hesitation when Blaine reached for his last pokemon. Blaine looked at the ball. The light from the lava below them reflected off his shades when he looked at Ash.

'This is my last pokemon Ash.' Blaine expanded the ball. Quietly to himself he murmured. 'I hope you are right about this.'

Louder, Blained commanded, 'Come forth like a force of nature, Elafris.'

A red light hit the gym floor. Red wings spread out from the pokemon. The Charizard glared at Ash and gave a challenging roar. Ash's smile slipped. That roar echoed in Ash's head. Ash felt his heart beat faster. He had not heard a roar that fierce since...

The Anne.

Elafris was dangerous. Just looking at the pokemon sent alarm signals to Ash. He pulled out his last pokemon.

'Pikachu go.'

Pikachu started to chitter at Ash happily as he landed softly on the gym floor. The Charizard growled at Pikachu. Pikachu turned to Elafris and glared at it. The Charizard dwarfed Pikachu by five feet.

Pikachu refused to back down and growled back. Energy amplified his voice and a deep rumble in the back of his throat echoed off the walls. Pikachu started side stepping while staring down the larger pokemon. Apparently it wasn't just Ash who saw this Charizard as a threat. Pikachu slipped into a fighting stance that was he never used in a gym battle.

Ash exhaled. 'I am ready. There is no need for the minute wait for preparations.'

Blaine signaled he was ready too.

'This is the final bout between Ash Ketchum and Gym Leader Blaine. Begin!'

'Test his speed. Charge.'

Pikachu took two bounds forwards before he disappeared in a streak of electricity with sparks trailed off his cheeks. The energy of the charge screeched a high pitch whine. The distance was short between Pikachu and Blaine's Charizard. It was still more than enough time for Blaine to respond.

'Flame thrower.' Blaine called while watching the zig zag movements Pikachu made across the floor.

Pikachu finally got into Elafris' range. Both pokemon's eyes locked as they both released their elemental attacks face to face.

Pikachu jumped at Elafris and used his tail to arc his jump over the flame thrower. The flame thrower was far faster than Pikachu was expecting and he could not clear it all. Pikachu gave a cry in pain. His side and tail were burnt badly. That did not stop his attack that enshrouded Elafris in a field of electricity.

Ash rolled to the side to avoid the flame thrower. Its attack was a narrow funnel that reached past where he stood and slammed against the mountain wall. Ash gritted his teeth as he saw Pikachu land the follow through quick attack on Elafris' head to knock him over. It was enough to interrupt the flame thrower. Ash was relieved Pikachu was able to move past the burst of pain.

Pikachu quickly looked at the damage at his scorched fur and felt like limping from the pain on his side. He called back to Ash while holding the electric attack on Elafris.

'I know.' Ash called. That attack could have end Pikachu had he not been able to dodge.

Ash looked at his partner's still smoking body.

'Headbutt.' Blaine called calmly. His eyes looked intently on the fight. He already knew what he wanted Elafris to do next.

Pikachu dodged the headbutt but had to break the electric link that he fed into the Charizard. Elafris immediately on his own gathered energy into his fist and punched at PIkachu who was in mid air. Pikachu curled up and let himself take the hit. He used his eyes to try and judge the fist before he pushed himself off the fist. It barely worked. Pikachu landed and bounced several feet away before he skidded to a halt. Elafris stood back up largely unhurt but still feeling the ache of the electricity.

Ash saw how fast the recovery was for Blaine's pokemon and quickly he yelled.

'Reset.'

Pikachu followed his command to get back into the ready position on Ash's side of the gym. He continued to charge electricity that streaked behind him and into the air. The Charizard was not going to let that happen.

'Firespin, Fly, Seismic Toss.' Blaine ordered. He already began to predict what the next response may be.

Elafris flapped his wings once to get him off the ground. The second flap of his wings was enough to nearly catch up to Pikachu. Elafris exhaled a blaze of a firespin. Pikachu was forced to stop as a circle of fire that reached the ceiling surrounded him. Pikachu looked around trying to find where Elafris was coming from. Pikachu grunted as two massive hands punched into him and grabbed his small body. Pikachu felt his stomach lurch as he was pulled into the air.

'Thunderwave, Swift.' Ash called while watching the pair rise into the air. Pikachu barked a 'chaa!' as a wave electricity soaked the gym in a burst of light. A moment later, stars began to chase the pair.

'Bat them away with your tail. Finish that toss!' Elafris used his tail to swat away the stars only for them to explode violently against his tail into waves of electricity.

Ash watched Elafris not even pause at the attacks. Pikachu cried out as he was constricted into the Charizards grip.

Ash watched the loop that would start the Seismic Toss. Pikachu needed some way to recover. Charizard roared its victory. It was a cry that made Ash's heart-

*BEAT*

Ash did not know where it came from but his voice lost its worried tone. A steel like quality entered his voice.

'Pikachu, make him flinch.'

Pikachu used the jostling explosions from the failed swift attack to allow him to turn and glare at Elafris. His eyes shone a pale blue light and the rumbling against the Charizards chest shook his whole body. It was the only warning Pikachu gave to the other pokemon to let him go. Elafris ignored it to complete his attack. Pikachu felt his fur flare into spikes as soon as he tapped into the latent energy in his body that was so rarely used as electricity.

Pikachu looked at Elafris' chest and buried his face into the larger pokemons' body. Pikachu opened his mouth and screeched an unnatural pitched scream. Elafris was so startled, it was primal instinct that made him push Pikachu away.

Pikachu was in free fall for a few seconds before he rightened himself and landed on all fours.

Elafris nearly did not recover. He skidded to a halt on Blaine's side of the gym. He looked at the small pokemon wearily.

Pikachu looked up with blue leering eyes. Electricity rolled off him. His fur was spiked. He opened his mouth and two sounds came out, one from his own voice and one that rumbled in his tiny chest.

'Quick attack. He's off balanced.' Ash watched the Charizard with cold eyes. 'Corner him.'

Pikachu charged, blue eyes filled with energy.

'Megapunch' Blaine called even while trying to understand what just happened. Elafris haltingly raised his fist to punch Pikachu. Pikachu barked out a hiss sound and tackled the Charizard's shoulder. He dropped to the ground and with another rumble deep in the mouse pokemon's chest bit hard into Elafris' knee. It was more reaction than actual damage that Charizard pulled back from the attack.

Pikachu kept eye contact with the larger pokemon. 'Pressure him.'

Blaine was beginning to understand what Ash was trying to do. 'Elafris take to the air. Get some perspective.'

Pikachu launched electricity at Elafris' wing and leaped into Elafris' shoulder before the Charizard could respond to his trainers' orders. Pikachu glared keeping eye contact with the red pokemon. When Pikachu bit hard into Elafris' wing, the Charizard had already off balanced. A growl and a fierce glare made Charizard rear back farther allowing him to fall over from his own off balanced weight.

'Fire spin, try and get some distance.' Blaine called urgently. Blaine looked to Ash. He knew that this was why that bastard had asked him to use Elafris.

Ash stared at the field. 'Don't let him breathe.'

Pikachu tackled into Charizard's lungs to halt the inhale for the attack. He used his electricity to help slow the dragons reaction time again to make another clumsy dodge even slower.

Ash stared at the field and saw what he needed to do. Every time Blaine called for a counter or an interception, Pikachu would roar. The pause was enough to allow Pikachu to slip pass and attack. Pikachu was listening to Blaine's commands now more so than his. Pikachu needed every second he could get to stop Elafris before he moved.

Ash swallowed. He watched for every hesitated step Elafris took. Ash saw every flinch Blaine's pokemon made. It was not long before Elafris was not able to comprehend what Blaine was saying. How could he when Pikachu interupted him everytime Blaine spoke. The momentum built for Pikachu as Elafris got slower, Pikachu moved faster.

Ash looked at the Charizard and knew Pikachu was mismatched for this fight. The damage Pikachu could do to the fire pokemon was insignificant. Pikachu could not hurt Elafris. Not with phsyical attacks, and Elafris already showed he took little damage to Pikachu's thunder. It would take energy gathered over a long time to really hurt the pokemon.

Blaine's Charizard was powerful. Far stronger that any opponent Pikachu ever fought.

'Cut him off. Don't let him fly.' Pikachu responded with a screech that shook the room.

Ash had felt this echo of a memory when Blaine released his pokemon. The opponent was too strong. He had to deter Elafris from attacking Pikachu. It would only take one solid hit for Pikachu to get knocked out.

He needed to make sure Elafris would not attack immediately if Pikachu had to stop and charge for a knock out attack.

Elafris was the bigger pokemon. He had the most experience. He had the most power. The stronger defense...

Pikachu snarled and disappeared out of Elafris' vision only to bite hard against the back of the Charizard's right wing. Pikachu roared and growled into the Charizard's ear and disappeared in a burst of speed to tackle one side repeatedly. Pikachu kept forcing Elafris to use his shoulder and his wings to protect himself.

Blaine gave an order. Elafris would pause at Pikachu's intense glare. Ash realized after a moment he was not even listening to Blaine. He couldn't afford the distraction.

Ash was not sure if Pikachu could win this fight. But he was going to try and create an opening if they could just keep fighting.

Ash thought the drop of water was a bead of sweat that rolled off his head. The second one hit him right on top of his head. Ash saw a third fall in front of him. Ash looked up and saw the ceiling. It snapped with electricity. Ash just found a path to victory.

Ash refocused just as Elafris took a step back. The Charizard looked back to Blaine unsure what to do. Blaine nodded in understanding. Blaine called in his final orders to try and finish the match. Elafris froze when Pikachu shot two bolts of lightning to cut him off from moving. Again the energy could not hurt Elafris, but it did the job of making him slow.

Ash called out. 'Cancel. Charge the ceiling.'

Blaine looked up at that announcement and he closed his eyes in defeat.

Pikachu snarled at Elafris before he ran back to the center of the gym to give himself some room. He skidded to a halt and turned back to the Charizard. It spoke volumes that Elafris did not try to capitalize on Pikachu's exposed back.

Just moments before the flash of light, Elafris looked at Pikachu and saw the difference as soon as Pikachu stopped trying to overwhelm him. Pikachu's eyes were cheerful and black. His fur was no longer spiked. Pikachu looked soft and round now, nothing like the jagged spike of fear he was just moments before.

Pikachu summoned all of the electricity he could and pulled from the air above him. The steam from the last two rounds had covered the ceiling inside the volcanic cave. It glistened on the rocks. A single snap of electricity came from the ceiling before it struck Pikachu. The impurities in the rock combined with the cooling condensation on the ceiling made the entire room one giant battery. One that Pikachu had unknowingly charged since the start of the match.

Ash looked at the Charizard happy with the victory. Ash's smile faltered when he really looked at Elafris. The Charizard looked scared. Blaine's pokemon was visibly shaking. His breath was haggard and his wings were slouched. He was not even going to try and dodge the attack. He was waiting for the finishing blow. Ash looked at him and realized he was already beaten. Ash could only win by knock out. But this suddenly felt needlessly cruel. 'I am sorry.'

Ash breathed through his nose as he made a decision...

'Hold.'

Pikachu slowly released the energy harmlessly into the ground. Pikachu turned around to look at his trainer. 'Pikapi?'

'We forfeit. I am sorry Pikachu.'

 _So this was it then, I lost the gym battle._ Ash exhaled and looked up. He would be disappointed later.

Ash walked across the stones to the gym floor and met Blaine in the middle of the field. He looked helplessly at the shaking Charizard who was recalled with no fanfare.

'Winner, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town two to one.'

Ash looked up surprised. He forgot. He had already won the gym challenge. He had won before Pikachu stepped onto the field. He did not need to do any of this. He felt nauseous thinking about it. What had he been doing? What had he trained Pikachu to do?

When Blaine stood in front of him, Ash could not even muster the strength to look at him. Ash was not proud of what he did.

'I told you Ash. It won't always feel good.' Ash looked up at the older man. Guilt covered him like a cloak at what he did. Pikachu looked up matching his trainer's expression.

Blaine looked at him somberly. 'You felt Elafris was an opponent you could not win against... Didn't you?' Ash looked down and after a moment nodded.

Blaine sighed but knew that something like this could happen to Ash. But he had not realized he would be the one that would instigate it. Blaine looked at Ash's partner and stroked his chin. He knew Ash and his Pikachu were close when they were defending the S.S. Anne. Maybe it was because the gym battle was with his Pikachu?

'None of our attacks were working. Any full-on attack Elafris would have done could have decimated Pikachu. We needed time to set up the finishing blow. And then I remembered preparing Pikachu for something... We-'

Ash began to see what he was training Pikachu for. Ash was preparing Pikachu for a much bigger job. Ash did not know what that job would be. But he wanted Pikachu by his side when he did it. Ash thought wildly W _hy did I teach Pikachu to do any of this. What did I want to accomplish with this?_

Truthfully, Ash did not know where it all came from. He had never trained Pikachu to make his opponent too scared to fight back. He taught him how to prevent an attack to help them get an advantage. He trained Pikachu to not be intimidated when they fought bigger and stronger pokemon. He shouted to get Pikachu to respond and show the other pokemon he wasn't afraid. It all made sense when he trained Pikachu, but now after seeing what it did when it all combined in a battle field...

Blaine nodded. 'I understand Ash. I am not angry. And I have seen this in many people over the years. Even though you are an adult you are still very young.'

Ash closed his eyes and willed his eyes not to tear.

Blaine smiled at him and looked at the viewing box before he signaled one of his disciples to close the blinds to give them some privacy on the floor.

'Cry Ash, It's just us now. I know you are disappointed.'

Ash started to cry at the total pointless of it all. Why was he so frustrated? Why was he so angry? He had won! Why could he not stop crying? Pikachu leaned into Ash's leg for support. But even Pikachu looked like he was tearing up.

'This has to be a low for me. I've never been so disappointed in my self.' Ash said around gasps of tears. 'I never wanted to win like this.'

Blaine patted the boy's head.

'Ash look at me.'

Ash looked up still trying to fathom what he was feeling. 'You stopped your self.'

Ash sniffed slightly. He knew he did not like attacking a helpless pokemon. Even an opponent. Elafris was not an enemy. He was just a pokemon who was trained to do a job.

'Ash I am just glad you are experiencing this now. Better now where it is safe to learn these personal lessons rather in the field. I told you Ash, you can be selfish. This is part of that too. You don't need to train Pikachu to face threats when it is not your job. Allow your self some time to just enjoy training for your gym battles.'

Ash nodded. He did not understand what Blaine meant. He did not even know he had been doing anything other than training his pokemon. Again, it would take a long time for Ash to really understand what Blaine was talking about.

'I had wanted to introduce you to a few people. But that can wait until later. Right now Ash, you should know you did nothing wrong. You did what you had to do to win. I told you before right? That you experienced something that would change you. What you are feeling is normal.'

Ash gave a nervous laugh as that memory and his confusion of that chat came back to him. 'I really wish it did not have to feel this bad.'

'No one ever does Ash. When you think about this experience just remember that this was a ten badge battle. It is a test to see what would you do against a wild pokemon. If it was a wild pokemon, they would have retreated long ago from your Pikachu. You deterred your threat Ash. And you did it with out harming him. If you need to think about this match, think of that. You won against Elafis with out harming him.'

Ash took some comfort from that. But the pain of what he could make Pikachu, what he could make any of his pokemon do disturbed him. When Ash thought about it, he could make them all do what Pikachu did.

Blaine stepped back to look at Ash when the boy finally relaxed. 'Ash we had rules we had to follow. And you followed them to the letter. If anything this is my fault. I misjudged the mental damage Elafis was taking. As soon as I saw he was becoming ineffective I should have recalled him and forfeit.'

Ash looked mutinous at the idea of Blaine forfeiting. The old man laughed the the boy's reaction. 'Go back to your room. I'll send you up some food for lunch. There is a banquet tonight for the guests who are visiting. They had come for the placement matches they will be taking. The Indigo Plateau tournament has seeds, and these matches determine who those seeds are. But the officials wanted to hold off the gathering so the seeds can see you. They felt the seeds should see who their potential oppenent is if not this year maybe in the next.'

Ash did not even register what Blaine implied. Ash sunk in on himself. _They had seen that last fight?_

'I'll come to the dinner. I think I just need to come to terms with what I almost did to win a match. I don't think I will be good company right now. It will wash over in a bit. And I'll be annoyed I got upset at all.'

Blaine grinned at him. 'Alright. But Ash. If you ever need to talk, my door, Surge's door for that matter, will always be open.'

Ash smiled and nodded. 'Thank you sir.'

Blaine watched him walk away with Pikachu trailing behind him. 'Ash!'

Ash turned around. He was already half way across the gym. Blaine threw him the badge. 'Congratulations Ash. Two more to go.'

Ash caught the badge. He looked at it briefly and felt a little bit of the joy coming back to him for getting the badge. 'Thank you Blaine.'

-o-

Blaine waited until Ash had left. When the doors were closed and he confirmed the blinds were shut, he pulled out a potion reserved for emergency healing kits. Once it was emptied into the pokeball Blaine released Elafris.

The Charizard looked around tiredly. His body shook slightly. Blaine did not know if it was from unhealed nerve damage, or actual mental strain. 'I am sorry Elafris. I should have called the match when you could no longer fight. They had shut you down completely didn't they?'

The Charizard grunted in agreement. Elafris closed his eyes and let himself lay there willing for the thoughts of the match to escape him. 'You did well. But it will be weeks before we can see if they had done any long term damage. At the very least we know that there are no more ten badge battles we are expected to fight in for the rest of the season.'

Elafris sighed in understanding.

'How is he?'

Blaine gently patted Elafris' head. 'He is mature enough that Pikachu's fight should not imprinted any lasting damage.' Blaine took to time to make sure Elafris was relaxed before recalling him. Blaine stood up and turned around. 'But we will see. I am worried about how helpless and ineffective Elafris felt during the fight. I really want to be mad at you. But you were right.'

Lance gave the older man an apologetic shrug. 'I needed to make sure Ash could handle it. If I didn't I would never consider having him be invited. It's the reason why I agreed to help you train up Elafris in the first place. Ash will run into plenty of pokemon like him if he decides to accept the invitation to the Indigo Plateau Tournament.' Lance looked up to the ceiling and whistled at the burnt marks from the lightning that struck Pikachu moments before Ash forfeited the match. He looked back to Blaine when the old man gave him an impatient huff.

Lance laughed good naturedly. 'Really I think the Indigo League Tournament would be a waste for him. But the decision will be up to him. He can seek fame through the new comers tournament, or he can think about his career and keep his options open and accept the challenge of the Indigo Plateau Tournament.'

Blaine glared at him. 'I thought you said he would be invited regardless of his choice so long as he won my gym challenge.'

Lance smiled genially at him. 'Oh I will honor your request. He has got his invitation as soon as he completes his minimum eight badges. But if he becomes as reputable as we both know he will be in an open tournament. Well... There are doors that I would think would suit him well if he does not participate in the new comers tournament.'

Blaine held his glare at Lance before shaking his head. 'You are too annoying to deal with right now. My pokemon are hurting. Good day Champion Lance.'

'Such hostility Blaine.' Lance chastised as Blaine swept past him to get his bag he left in the gym leaders square. 'But you are right, take care of your pokemon. I'll see you at the banquet.' Lance turned and walked out the door.

Blaine watched him go. After an aggravated grunt, he started to go upstairs from the path he came in. A few of the guests would be disappointed they could not talk to the victor right away.

 _Tough break._ Blaine thought with a disgruntled huff. The gym leader mindlessly walked into the room for the guests and found Misty. She stood with barely held patience at the door.

'Is Ash ok?' Misty asked gently.

'He will be eventually. What did the others say?'

Misty shook her head but looked back to the other guests. 'Giovanni had a few words he would like to speak to Ash about. Which was a turn around from what he said before the match.' She looked at the other guests, but no one saw what was so glaringly wrong with the last fight like she did.

'The rest of them were impressed. I don't think anyone noticed something was off at all. They never met Ash before today. To everyone it was just a clean match.'

Blaine nodded. 'He's checked into room two-thirty-two on the second floor. I recall you said he was your friend? He could use a friend right now.'

Misty bowed a thanks to him and ran off. Blaine watched her go with a smile. Once inside the guest room he looked to see everyone waiting.

'It looks like Ash will need a break after that match. He will be down later this evening.'

There was a murmur of understanding. Blaine could always say that Ash simply slept through dinner if he did not make an appearance. And that would be enough for most of them.

-o-

Ash walked down to the recovery bay. Pikachu looked tired and Ash mindlessly picked him up and carried him in his arms. Ash looked over Pikachu carefully and realized abruptly he had never held Pikachu like this since he started his journey. Pikachu was falling asleep, lulled by the rhythmic steps down the hall. Ash leaned down and kissed the mouse's head. 'I am sorry buddy. There were so many things I did wrong. And none of it was your fault.'

Pikachu slept quietly with the occasional grimace of pain from his burns. Ash soon found himself at the recovery bay where one of the trainers who works for Blaine greeted him. 'Hello Mr. Ketchum. How was the match?'

Ash nodded tightly. 'We did well. I want my pokemon to rest through the afternoon and to tomorrow morning.'

The trainer nodded and started setting up the process. Ash watched idly while the trainer set up the recovery unit. Unlike in a pokemon center, the recovery unit was right next to the person who was manning the desk. Ash only ever saw the recovery unit in Cerulean before. This one was a little more advanced. It was a lot cleaner and newer looking than the one he saw the last time. Ash handed over his pokemon from his belt and gently set down pikachu on the table.

'Wake up little guy. I am going to put you in your pokeball.'

Pikachu slowly woke up and grimaced. When he saw his pokeball, 'Pikapi!'

Ash smiled when Pikachu held his arm off. 'All of you need to recover. Especially you.' Ash gently ran his hand near one of the burns. Pikachu flinched and cried in pain.

'See? I will be fine. Get some rest. I'll talk to you guys when you are all awake and fully healed tomorrow. The others will want to know the results of the bouts.' Pikachu dropped his ears at the idea of sharing what they did. After a moment, Pikachu licked Ash's cheek before he allowed himself to be pulled into his pokeball.

'Rest well guys.' Ash handed his last pokeball to the trainer and bid the man a good afternoon.

Ash made his way to his room and set down his belt clip on his bed. It was barely past noon and he felt as if he was ready for bed. A gym battle would normally drain him. But this one seemed more intense. There were a lot of mistakes. Ash was very happy and proud how Snorlax and Psyduck performed. But it was his decisions with Pikachu that still weighed heavy on him.

Ash moved outside to the balcony in his room and sat down. The heated air blew up from the waterfall below him. Ash sighed and leaned back in his chair. He allowed for all the emotions today catch up with him and he dozed.

-o-

Misty knocked several times. Misty saw the door was unlocked and was not even completely shut. Ash was there. He was just not responding. After the fourth knock, Misty covered her face to hide her embarrassment. After a hesitated moment, she opened the door and let herself in. She looked around curiously before she noticed the door leading outside was open. Ash rested on a reclined chair facing outside.

Misty smiled and walked quietly to Ash only to notice he was sleeping, his mass of black hair was everywhere. She ran her hand through his hair. It was rare to see him with out his hat. She stopped when his head moved. Ash looked over his shoulder sleepily and stared at her.

He smiled and leaned into her hand. Misty did not know how to take the movement before the boy sighed.

Eyes closed, Ash asked, 'You saw all of that Misty?'

Misty paused with playing with his hair only to wrap her arms around his neck. Ash sat back awkwardly into his chair as she leaned over the chair to hug him.

'I missed you too Ash.'

Ash exhaled a laugh but leaned back into her arms and just absorbed the support Misty could give him. 'We really should have forfeit sooner.'

'Don't think that Ash. It was a ten badge gym battle. The rules are very different when _you_ fight a gym battle. You said you saw lower ranked gym battles. So you already know how different it is for you. Remember how you burned Erika's gym?' Ash sulked into the chair at the reminder. Misty giggled into his shoulder. 'Well the fight was registered as a ten badge battle. It is actually expected that a gym take some kind of damage for those types of fights.'

Misty walked around and reached for his hand. 'Ash, do you feel like you made a mistake when you had Pikachu fight Blaine's Charizard?'

Ash nodded. 'I did not see Elafris at all during that fight. I just saw a pokemon who was dangerous. I- I did not even see what I was doing to Elafris. I was just happy we were able to hold him off. And we could win. If i had not looked at him before Pikachu fired that attack, I would never have know what I was doing. That scares me. I don't want to fight like that.'

Misty squeezed his hand.

'Misty we don't go looking to make our opponent too sacred to fight. But that is what I did.' Ash glared at the ground.

'I should have found another way. I could done something different to stall for time. This was not me. It was not Pikachu. This is not how we should fight.'

She held his hand and gave it one squeeze before standing and pulling Ash to his feet.

'Ash, think about that fight again. What did you make pikachu do exactly?' She pulled him out of the balcony and onto the bed so they could sit facing each other.

Ash allowed himself to be pulled along until they both sat down centered on the bed. 'I wanted to make Elafris stop attacking.' Ash reasoned out. 'I gave orders to make sure he could not hurt Pikachu.'

Misty nodded and hum in agreement. 'You did that, you watched for what Elafis would do, and prevented him from doing every move Ash. After the first clash, you dominated the fight. Remember when I said you were a scary trainer?' Ash sulked into the bed. Misty laughed but pushed his shoulder playfully to make sure he was looking at her. 'You did what you saw you could do. And you did it the most efficient way possible.'

Ash glared at the ceiling before agreeing. 'But that doesn't excuse me just backing Elafis into a corner. I should have pulled back when I saw it work. Like I did when I judged a pokemon was about to pass out. I could have ordered Pikachu back sooner.'

Misty shook her head. 'Ash I was watching remember? If you had given Elafis a chance, he would have won the fight. I know you and Pikachu understood that in some way, or you would never had tried to intimidate him for as long as you did.'

Ash grunted. Ash did not feel like he won anything in the final bout.

Ash would never mind when he would loose. He was honestly still surprised he has not lost a gym battle before today. But to win a battle when his opponent was clearly waiting for it to end...

Misty simply watched him as his thoughts played out across his face. She repressed her own relief when it looked like Ash was listening and sorting it out. 'Ash there is one thing I want to talk to you about regarding that gym battle. And I am sorry to reopen a wound that is just beginning to heal. But I think it is important. And quite frankly I am both surprised and not surprised you have never learned it before today. Six gyms in, and its such a basic thing you never needed to learn.'

Ash looked at her confused. Misty leaned over and pulled him into a hug to give him support before she said, 'Ash think about the whole gym battle. This is the first time you used multiple pokemon on a single gym.'

Ash nodded into her neck. When he did not say anything. Ash could feel her inhale before she asked, 'When did you decide to choose your pokemon?'

Ash pulled back to look at her. Then like every bright idea he ever had, it came to him. 'Oh...' Ash felt the pointlessness of it all when he realized what she was asking. 'I chose the order before the match. When I decided to go with Pikachu I only had the choice between him and Pidgeot... But had I thought about match ups..' Ash paused really thinking about if he had the option to choose pokemon.

Misty nodded her head in understanding. Ash never had to judge when to use a pokemon against an opponent. He had always chose to fight with one across multiple opponents. He had always called it training against his team's weaknesses.

'I would never have put Snorlax against Tinder.' Ash leaned into his hands. It was such a simple answer. 'If I really thought about it. I would have saved him for a much more tank-like pokemon. Like Elafris.'

Ash leaned back and really thought about the fight as a whole. It was a consideration he never had to make before. He never had to think about an order in which to fight his pokemon. And it showed in the outcome of the final match.

'Pikachu would have been able to take Tinder. Psyduck or Pidgeot could have handled Sulfur. And had I not been so eager to show Snorlax his first gym battle, I would have been ready for Blaine's last pokemon.' Ash laid down on his bed. He suddenly felt dizzy at the realization of it all.

A/N:

And another chapter out. Holy crap. This took so many drafts. I totally forgot to comment on Teddi's comment about pokemon that started with a 'p' I honestly did not know that was a pattern until you pointed that out. I had a good laugh.

Elafris: the corrupted spelling of the greek word elafros, elaphros: light weight or agile. I liked it since it had a double meaning in english to a small light like a candle like Charmander's tail.


	10. Chapter 10: Psychic

Chapter 10

Misty and Ash spent the hours talking and catching up in his room. Misty made it a goal to make Ash laugh and enjoy the time as much as possible. She would see him stop and let his mind wander. Misty was quick on her feet and would bounce on an idea or a story that she did while he traveled. She even told him what the differences between the gym battle levels were like. What they looked for in a single badge battle versus the higher ranks. Ash appreciated her efforts to keep him occupied.

It would take him a while to get over the whole debacle of Blaine's fight. He thought about the full night ahead of him where people would ask him about his thoughts of the gym battle. Ash felt his nerves were frayed just thinking about it. But Ash had told Misty he was going to the banquet tonight. He needed to at the very least thank Blaine for the gym battle.

Misty smiled in agreement. She had seen who was in the spectator's box. She really wanted to talk to him about it, but she only told him there were a few high officials he would not recognize.

There was no need to make him any more nervous than he needed to be. Finally the time came and Ash asked if she wanted to wait while he got ready. She nodded and only realized he was in the shower when the water turned on. She allowed her self to think about him in a shower for a few seconds before she chased away the thoughts. She instead went to look and play with his hat while he showered.

'It might be time for a new one if he uses it so much.'

She examined the red and white cap. It was frayed and stained in the back from sweat. She stuck out her tongue and made an ick sound before she really played with it. After looking over to the bathroom where Ash was still showering away, she went to the mirror and stared at her self. Blushing all the while, she undid her hair from its bun and let it roll down to her shoulders. She smiled brightly before putting the hat on.

For Ash being the smaller of the two, the hat was a size too big for her. The bill of the cap sunk over her eyes. She giggled to her self before she pulled it higher and struck a pose she saw Ash do during his match with Blaine. She snorted to her self at the expression and promptly took off the hat when the water stopped. She tossed it back to the bed and just simply stared at the mirror and played with her own hair.

That's how Ash found her when he got out of the bathroom fully clothed with just a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. After a moment of Ash just looking at her, Ash thought aloud, 'I never knew your hair was so long. It looks nice like that.'

He pointed to how it sat right above her shoulders.

Misty gave him a smile she reserved when he said or did something nice. Ash smiled back no sure what caused that particular smile but went to get his shoes. The banquet was going to start in just half an hour.

-o-

Blaine stood apart from the groups. He had got his confirmation from Misty that Ash would be arriving, but he had his doubts. They were proven wrong a few minutes later when Ash arrived in his training clothes with a slight smile on his face. It was a reaction from something Misty said. Blaine was happy to see what ever Misty was able to talk to him about helped. He did not know Ash well. Although a simple observation gave him some hope.

'Welcome to the banquet Ash. I hope Misty has been a help.'

Ash smiled gratefully at the older man. 'Thank you for inviting her. She has been always a big help putting things in perspective for me. I just need to learn from this. Just like every other mistake I made.'

Blaine smiled at the pair before he gestured an introduction to the group. Ash soon found himself introduced to the Indigo seeded trainers for the Indigo Plateau tournament. Ash looked at Misty who grinned impishly. Ash met a few trainers he had heard before over the years. Many of them who he found out worked for the league already. Most were looking for promotions. A few wanted to just compete to keep their edge up.

Misty stepped away for a moment allowing Ash a chance to talk to them with out her. Ash soon found himself laughing at a story a young man named Will was telling him about his work under Agatha one of the Elite Four. Ash turned in time to see Misty come back.

'Ash I wanted to also introduce you to the one gym leader you haven't met.' Misty hooked her arm with his and pulled him away. The group of trainers looked at the pair in amusement. Ash was gently guided to a man who stood with Blaine and...

'Kelly?' Ash looked at the older woman. He had not heard from her at all.

Kelly waved excitedly. 'Hi Ash!' She moved to slap him on the back. 'It is good to see you again. I'm here representing the Celadon Gym. Erika was curious, but she didn't feel like it was her place to be here.' Kelly frowned at that, although that turned back to a smile looking at Misty and Ash.

'Misty, this is Kelly, she actually gave me a ride most of the way to Celadon City.'

'After you knocked out Eggs in the tournament.' Kelly added helpfully giving Misty a full picture who this person was. Kelly went on heedlessly. 'Ash, your psyduck was impressive then. He did a hell of a job during today's fight. I am sorry by the way Ash, I kept meaning to send you a message. Thank you for the letter. With the reconstruction of the gym I kept putting it off.'

Ash understood. He thought back to his stay in Celadon. 'It is alright I had been busy too. And I only been to two or three pokemon centers since, if you had sent me a message it would have been over a month before I could had responded. To be honest I have not thought about Erika in a while. If she did not come her self it was probably more to do with me personally than...' Ash stopped himself. While he was sure people knew what he did. He was not sure if people know why he did it. 'Let's talk about this later Kelly. Misty you had someone you wanted me to meet?'

Misty nodded, 'Sorry Kelly. It was nice to meet you but I did want to introduce Ash to Giovanni.'

Kelly nodded and stepped aside to allow the pair to walk past. She watched them go and giggled at the spectacle.

'Good evening Blaine. Hello sir, my name is Ash Ketchum.' Ash bowed to the other man who stood with Blaine. The man stood tall in a custom deep brown suit.

'It is a pleasure to meet you Ash Ketchum. Your match was something to behold. I have not seen a trainer even close to your age move like that since...' Giovanni turned his head to clear his thoughts. 'I would say in over ten years. Sorry Ash, old memories. I look forward to your time at my Gym. I heard you will come to my gym within the next few months?'

Ash grinned and nodded. 'Yes sir. I look forward to the match.'

Blaine and Giovanni exchanged looks. Blaine gave the younger gym leader a helpless smile. Giovanni looked back to Ash. 'So do I. You showed us some interesting things out there. Continue to do so I may have to find a way to recruit you into my company.' Blaine stirred at that but kept his silence.

Giovanni paid the old man no mind. He pulled out a single card from his suit pocket. 'Here Ash if you ever need anything or have any questions, my door is open. I am always looking for promising new trainers for my various enterprises.'

Ash took the card but he felt something along with it. Giovanni suddenly felt like the energy Psyduck was complaining about during the entire stay. For a brief moment Ash thought Giovanni was the source. But then the energy felt like it turned. Like it focused on them both. Ash took every bit of self control not to pull back. Just as fast as it fell on them it faded. Ash held onto the card for a moment and noted that no one reacted to what he felt. Ash wondered if what ever it was he was feeling left a mark on the older man.

Psyduck has been having severe headaches since they arrived on the island, but neither Ash nor Psyduck noticed until they went inside the mountain. It was the sudden absense of pain that really made Ash notice. He was willing to think it was just a quirk of the region of some strange near by pokemon. But after that... Ash gave a brief cursory look at the white card. with the simple name:

Viridian Works

Ash bowed deeply but already knew he just wanted to be away from Giovanni as soon as possible. The more he stood in front of the man, the more he felt like he was back in the ring with Blaine's Charizard. The man's gaze was intense and predatory.

'Thank you Giovanni-sir. We'll talk again when I reach your gym.'

Giovanni looked satisfied before he moved to a group of trainers.

'Ash I have not told you why so many people were here.'

Ash turned to Blaine. 'Most of these trainers have not heard of you. Many of them are powerful trainers, but they do not have the spark you carry in your gym battles Ash. Any number of these trainers could easily defeat you with their pokemon if it came down to brute force. But we already showed them you don't need brute force to win. Didn't we?' Ash lowered his eyes for a brief moment before looking back up. He nodded steadily. A determination reflected in his eyes and Blaine looked satisfied with what he saw.

Blaine cleared his throat while he glanced over to Giovanni talking to two teen aged girls about their pokemon. 'Sorry Ash I should follow him. Giovanni loves looking for new talent for employees.' Blaine stepped away to go reign in Giovanni.

Ash looked at the card Giovanni gave him. Ash remembered his own personal lessons regarding gym leaders. At least Giovanni reminded Ash he was a businessman. Ash was grateful for the reminder. Abruptly Misty gripped his elbow. He jerked up and looked at her. His eyes looked tired but startled. 'Ash? Are you ok? You seemed to zone out there for a bit.'

Ash pocketed the card. It was decided. He was going to ask Psyduck what it was he was feeling and where the source is. He needed to find out what it was. This seemed too close to be a coincidence.

'Misty, would you like to travel with me tomorrow to go look into something? Do you have time?' Ash added after just asking her out of the blue.

Misty nodded but still gave him a look of concern. 'Yeah I am here for another week. My sister is running ahead of me. But I wanted to see everything here before I left back to Cerulean.'

Ash smiled. 'After we go look into what I want to see, how about I show you around town? Just like I promised?'

Misty giggled. 'Sure Ash. So who do you want to meet next the older guy who is eating a pile of meat? Or the guy with the cape?'

Ash looked at her blankly. 'What?'

Misty pulled him again. He laughed as he nearly had to jog to keep up. 'Lance! This is Ash. The one I kept putting requests to go see a gym battle.'

Lance looked up from something he was reading on something that looked far too advanced to be a pokedex. 'Hello Ash.' Lance stood up and set down the machine he was reading. 'It is a pleasure to finally meet you.' Lance turned to Misty. 'You going to stop putting in those requests now?'

Misty stuck her tongue at him. 'No way. Not with the new comers tournament coming up in five months.'

Lance laughed. 'That was quite the battle there Ash. You fight like seasoned veteran.' Ash reached out to the man's handshake. Ash did his best to keep a straight face. 'Thank you sir. The fight was not what I expected. It was a difficult fight but not for the reasons I was expecting. Blaine reminded me there is always more difficult opponents.'

Lance looked at him with an intense look. Finally he leaned away and smiled. 'Good to hear! Blaine was worried for you. The old coot puts way too much investment on rookies if you ask me.'

Misty gave Lance a glare. 'What Misty? Its true. But I am probably not making a good first impression am I?' Lance scratched his head. 'For what its worth Misty, I apologize. Ash I usually say what I mean with out thinking. Just be aware if I say something tactless.'

'You should know better by now Lance, you been the elite four champion for years.' Misty said with an annoyed glare before looking at Ash.

Ash looked at the both of them before pointing at Lance. 'Your the Kanto Champion?' He looked back to Misty who gave him ann amused smirk.

'Don't be too impressed Ash. He is an idiot who gets pushed around by the Kanto Pokemon League president.' She gave the champion a glare but softened it when she looked to Ash.

'Ash I wanted you to meet the man who made it possible for me to come down today.'

Ash bowed. 'Thank you very much sir. Misty has always been a valuable friend and she has helped me even here.'

Lance thought back to his conversation with Blaine and then to the current Ash. It certainly seemed the case. He may have to think about pairing the two if Ash allows himself to be recruited.

-o-

Ash woke up the next day early and went to the recovery unit floor. Now that he noticed it, he could no longer ignore the thrum that ran in the back of his head. It was like a noise that was just behind his ear and it was frustrating that it wouldn't go away. Ash checked the time and he still had time before he would meet Misty at the north exit out of the mountain towards town. Ash readjusted his saddle that flopped over his shoulder. He had never used it for two people but he was told it could hold two adults comfortably.

Ash thanked the man at the counter and clipped on his pokeballs. Blaine had offered for Ash to stay for a few days the night before. Ash took the offer immediately while looking at Misty who grinned with him.

That meant he may get a miniature break. He had been thinking about it last night while laying in his bed. His pokemon would need to rest after fights like that. If any tournaments were like that for every round Ash was beginning to wonder if his pokemon would be ready in time for any prolonged tournament. Once outside he set down his saddle and released his pokemon.

Snorlax shook the ground as he flopped on his back and just relaxed out of his pokeball. Ash laughed as he released Psyduck. Ash looked at him carefully. The duck placed his hands back on his head but hummed to him self while moving back and forth. He would need to keep Psyduck in his pokeball to keep him rested. Psyduck was going to be their navigator.

Pidgeot came out of his ball and perked when he saw the saddle. 'I am sorry I did not give you the chance to fight this round Pidgeot. But we will have a chance soon with Koga.'

Ash let out Pikachu last.

'Pikapi!' Pikach ran up to him and up his shoulder. The mouse chittered angrily at him before resting his cheek against Ash's.

Ash smiled. 'Thanks Pikachu. I am actually a little better now. Misty is here. She was one of the people who watched the fights.'

Pikachu perked up at that and turned to look for her. Ash laughed. 'She will join us later. But first.' Ash turned back to his team. He waved them all to come together. He sat down with them.

'Every one of you did an amazing job in the gym battle. Even you Pikachu. But there is something I want to tell you all that I had pikachu do. And I am not proud of it. Misty said that I had no experience in multi-pokemon battles. And she is right. This is the first pokemon battle I ever had to switch out pokemon. I want to apologize to you guys. I should have learned how to do that by now.'

Ash turned to Pikachu. 'I am sorry Pikachu. If I had learned how to properly switch out instead of just choose a pokemon order before the gym battle, we could have completely avoided what we had to do to Elafris.'

Pikachu drooped his ears and cuddled against Ash's side. Ash petted his partner sadly. He looked up to his team. 'Blaine's last pokemon was a Charizard. He was incredibly powerful. Pidgeot, Psyduck you remember our night fighting the Gyrados?' The two nodded grimly.

'That was the kind of pokemon Elafris was. And Pikachu was completely ineffective.' Pikachu buried his face into Ash leg. 'So I had to find another way to corner Elafris until we could set up a final attack.' Ash looked at Snorlax and smiled. 'Snorlax, you remember when I trained Pikachu and you were surprised by his growl?'

Snorlax nodded. He was listening but only really understood half of what Ash was talking about. 'Think of that growl as one part of a way to corner Elafris. By the time we held on long enough to launch our counter attack Blaine's Charizard was already beaten. But gym rules say forfeit or Knock out.' Ash looked at the rest of his group and they gave him sympathetic looks.

'So I called Pikachu to hold. We forfeit the last match.' Ash repressed a tear.

'That will be the last time we are going to fight that way. Pikachu I am sorry. Even with how good we are. I am still learning to be a trainer. Misty and I talked about what we could have done different. And I think if we fight someone like Elafris again we can win. And do it with out trying to break them.' The group cheered and Ash went to hug them all.

-o-

Misty walked outside to an odd sight of Ash and Psyduck sitting across from each other. Their eyes were closed and Ash had his palm stretched out to Psyduck's hand. 'Just a sec Misty I think we almost found... it.'

Ash felt through all the thoughts to the source of Psyduck's headache. It was not so different from when Ash first felt Psyduck's energy back in Cerulean... But this amount of energy was massive. After a moment Ash shook his head. 'Let's stop for now Psyduck.'

Psyduck quacked and sighed. The duck pokemon massaged his head.

'I'll keep you in your ball and only take you out when we need more directions. Alright?' Psyduck quacked happily and allowed himself to be recalled.

Ash stood up and smiled at Misty. 'Morning Misty. Sorry about that. I wanted you to come along in case we find something that we can't handle. Psyduck has been having an off centered headache since we came to Cinnabar. It only slowed down when we went into the gym. That's actually when Psyduck noticed he was having it at all. Apparently the mountain is thick enough to protect him.' Ash frowned thinking about it. 'That's how we know its not from his own powers. But something else entirely.'

Misty looked at him with a raised eyebrow. 'And you thought that what ever this is, you should go investigate.'

Ash grinned, 'Close! I was actually happy to ignore it until I got the same kind of feeling from Giovanni.'

Misty didn't have words. 'What?' she asked flatly.

Ash grunted out a hum. 'It was like what ever is effecting Psyduck left an imprint on him. I had that same feeling when I was talking to Giovanni. So I figured with so many weird energy messages being tossed around I wanted to investigate. Come on!' Ash pulled Misty's hand towards Pidgeot.

'We are going to go look!'

Misty sighed but obeyed. 'Is your Pidgeot big enough?'

Ash threw out there, 'Janine didn't seem too concerned.'

Misty laughed. 'I've talked to her since then. She was too preoccupied with you being shirtless and hugging her during the trip Mr. Lady Killer.'

'OK. I walked right into that one.' Ash pouted but he grinned when Misty hopped on Pidgeot's back. Ash made sure all of his pokemon were secured and took off his hat and stowed it in the small saddle bag behind his seat. He hopped up on the saddle himself and pressed against Misty's body to fit.

Misty giggled with a slight blush. 'A girl really does get the wrong idea if this is how you fly with them Ash.'

Ash looked at her for a moment before grimacing. He was just happy she cold not turn around to see his blush. 'Ha, ha. Pidgeot let's go. Due south. I'll steer you to an island when we need to get more directions.' Pidgeot screeched and the group took off.

-o-

Pidgeot had long settled into a glide. He ignored the chatter that went on his back. He just had to be mindful of the gentle tugs on the reigns to guide him. Ash knew Pidgeot was disappointed in not participating in the gym match, but a long flight did help him relieve some stress. Ash even asked Pidgeot to go a little faster than normal to burn up some energy. It was a request the bird happily complied with.

'Land at this one Pidgeot. I think we are loosing direction again.' Pidgeot screeched an affirmative and made his decent. When they landed Pidgeot carefully lowered his back and allowed Ash then Misty off.

Misty laughed when she got down. Her legs were sore but that did not dampen her enthusiasm. 'That was amazing Pidgeot.' She hugged the bird in appreciation. She turned back to Ash who already had Psyduck out and sitting in front of him. She sighed as that took the wind out of her sails.

'Really Ash, way to kill the mood.' She said it more to her self but Pidgeot nudged her shoulder in agreement. Misty grinned. 'I hear you Pidgeot. Ash can be single minded when he has something he wants right?'

'Sorry about that Misty. We are close. There is actually a town a few islands to the south and west. We'll stop there and rest and see what we can find. I can actually feel the energy now too. It's actually hard to miss now. But I can't get a direction on it.'

Misty gave an 'oh, like how you could feel Pikachu's and Psyducks' energy back in Cerulean City?' Ash had told her before how he had discovered Psyduck. While she did not out right believe him about feeling energy, she knew that he trusted his instincts. That was enough for her.

Ash nodded before recalling Psyduck. 'Psyduck is able to block it now that it is coming from a specific direction. He will help us out a lot while we look for this energy.'

Ash and Misty found a small town that had a pokemon center on a very large island. It was large enough that there were several towns on it. Ash soon found that they were back on the Orange Islands again. The island was one of the boarder land masses between Kanto and the island archipelago. Misty watched Pikachu run and play on top of Snorlax who took the mouse's presence in stride and only tried to lazy bat him away from his face when he got too close. Pidgeot circled up on a tree branched and looked to be taking a nap.

Misty finally went back to waiting for Ash. She had never traveled this far south before. She was dying to look around but did not dare with out any pokemon. She did not think to bring any if only because they were needed while Lily watched the gym. Misty sighed thinking she should have at least brought someone with her.

Ash stirred after a few more moments. 'Alright. Let's go rest in town Misty. I'll let you know what we find when we check into the Pokemon Center.'

Misty stood up and unsure how to take this Ash. While he had always been great talking over the communicator or in person when they were in town. Out here he seemed more...

Misty grinned and said ruefully to her self. _He acts like a dick_.

'Just so long as you say why you been ignoring me most of the stop here.'

Ash looked up at her surprised. He immediately started apologizing. Misty giggled to her self while facing away from him. 'I know Ash you are sorry. I just feel like I'm left in the dark while you are doing what ever. You invite me out here and we only spoke for a little bit while flying. You have been focused on what ever you are doing. But you are not sharing anything you are looking for.'

Ash tilted his head and nodded while thinking about what she was saying. 'Sorry Misty. When I travel I don't really think I speak a lot aloud. You are the second person I've traveled with, and Kyo and Janine don't really count since Janine was shy and Kyo talked to her. I only really just listened.'

Misty huffed at him before gesturing him to lead the way. 'Well let's go to town and tell me what you found.'

Ash and Misty settled into their room. Pikachu hopped on Ash's bed and started jumping around with Psyduck. The duck pokemon seemed to feel better now that he could push out the noise that was entering his mind.

Ash watched them while leaning against a table in the room. Misty flopped on her bed. They had flown sporadically all day. She was not sure how many miles it was, but Ash said they had flown for close to five hours spread across the day.

'Ash? You said you felt this energy from Cinnabar Island. How could you or Psyduck feel it from so far away?'

Ash gave her an anxious look. Misty answered her own question. 'That's what you want to find out. Did you know it was this far?'

Ash shook his head. 'No. I didn't and that is what scares me. Me and Psyduck have figured out it is a Psychic. But why didn't anyone else feel it? Will was at the banquet yesterday and he says he is one of the five experts on psychic pokemon in Kanto and he is a psychic himself. So why is Psyduck so affected? I did find out why I am feeling it though. I am resonating with Psyduck.' Ash pointed to Psyduck. 'Sabrina explained it to me once and I had to go through my pokedex to pull up my notes. But that's the best way to explain it.'

Ash tossed Misty his pokedex and she red a brief note about resonating with pokemon. She gave him a curious look.

'Psyduck keeps an open mind out to me. It used to be to everyone before I trained him. I was just the one who could sense it since it was so close to Pikachu's latent electric energy.'

Misty went to go stand next to Ash while the pair watched Pikachu and Psyduck bounce and nearly fall off the bed. 'But this is different from that Ash?'

Ash nodded. He closed his eyes trying to feel the energy. 'It is more unconscious. It's like it's not really thinking. Its more like its feeling what is around it. Misty, I am sorry I stopped talking to you today. But the further we flew the more I realized what ever this pokemon is. It's powerful. It's so powerful its crossing hundreds of miles in every direction simply to look around.'

Ash's face settled in a concerned look. 'The only time I felt it was dangerous was when I was in direct contact with Giovanni. It was like the energy recognized its own energy and started to focus on us. That's when I knew I had to find out what it was.'

Misty nudged him with her elbow. 'You really thought this would be like a quick hour long trip and back didn't you?'

Ash laughed guiltily but nodded. 'Sorry Misty. After the first two hours where we talked I realized that this could go longer than I thought. We could have turned around but I didn't want break our chat for it when Psyduck could teleport us. And then after Psyduck gave me an image of the distance left to travel, I started just thinking about that.'

Misty elbowed his ribs hard this time. 'Just tell me next time. Ash I'll go where ever you will let me. But please let it be my choice. OK?'

Ash nodded his thanks. 'I will Misty. Well we are pretty close to it now. It's an island a good ten minute flight away. We'll go look at it tomorrow.' Ash stretched and yawned. Misty could concede most of their time was spent on random islands while Ash was looking for what ever that island was. It was getting dark soon and Misty could understand stopping now. At least it was at a center.

'Hey Misty.' Ash whispered and he nudged her shoulder with his. Misty looked up at him and he pointed at the TV with the remote. 'Watch this.'

Ash clicked the remote and Pikachu and Psyduck immediately stopped what they were doing. Like children they both ran to the TV and settled down to watch what was on before they started moving the lines and static on the screen.

Misty giggled. 'Are they seriously playing with the TV reception?'

Ash laughed with her. 'Every time. I think I only interrupted them once to watch something and that was when I wasn't feeling well.' Ash moved away from the table and gestured for her to follow.

'Lets go out to town. Maybe we can find something interesting to do that I can make it up to you for today.'

-o-

Ash swore as the message screen beeped at him. The view finder remained blank allowing the boy to see his own grim reflection. Now that he knew he could not get ahold of Will or Blaine himself he decided the best person to ask about this all would be Sabrina. But she was not answering this early either. Ash finally had his chance to leave his message after the automated voice gave him voice instructions he wish he could skip.

'Sabrina. I need you to get ahold of Will at Blaine's gym. I found something huge. It's swelling with psychic energy and no one seems to notice it. Look for me to find my exact location. I am at a town called Old Shore and we are flying south to a small island off shore.'

Ash sighed as he sent the message. In retrospect he should have invited Will along. Too late now. Ash could feel the thrum flow around him. This close to the epicenter it was as if he could taste the energy. He pulled the saddle over his shoulder and walked out of the communications room.

Ash and Misty mounted Pidgeot as soon as the group was outside. Misty giggled while she played with Psyducks downy feathers on his head. 'It's OK Psyduck. It's just a short trip!' Misty said cheerfully as Ash tightened the straps on their legs before giving Pidgeot the all clear whistle.

Psyduck gave a frantic quack as they lifted off but calmed down once they were in the air. It was mid morning when the group had gotten ready for the trek. Ash and Misty gave an awed sound as the saw a two building compound on top of a tall craggy island that looked like it lifted itself above the water. Ash had Pidgeot fly around to get a better view. There was a helicopter pad, but it looked like it was the only way to officially land. The buildings took up the entire island.

'Is that it for sure Psyduck?' Ash called over the noise of the wind.

Psyduck quacked and pointed at one of the buildings. Misty said for him, 'It looks like it. Psyduck is pointing to the shorter of the two buildings.' Ash allowed Pidgeot to do a long slow glide around the two buildings.

'Ash?'

Ash gripped an arm around her to say he heard her. 'I don't know. I was thinking it would be some kind of wild pokemon. But if its in there, I don't know what we should do. We'll land and see if we can get some clues. If other psychics are not sensing it, there is no way these guys could feel it either.'

The group turned to land on the roof of the shorter building. It was the roof closest to the helicopter pad that sat on the only clearing on the island. Misty went to the edge of the roof to look around while Ash recalled Pidgeot and spoke to Psyduck on where to go next.

Ash sighed. 'There are maybe fifty people here. This is some kind of office building and science lab. This short building goes into the ground a ways. What ever it is that's here is four floors down.'

Misty looked unsure before she said, 'We are trespassing Ash. Are you sure this is a good idea?'

Ash shook his head as he released Pikachu. Pikachu looked around surprised before looking back to the pair. Ash couldn't help but laugh at the expectant looks all three of them were giving him. 'Nope. But there is tonnes of energy coming from that one pokemon. We need to investigate. If it is serious we'll call for help. If all else fails, Psyduck can teleport us out quickly. Right Psyduck?'

Psyduck watched the pair passively but saluted with quack. 'See?'

Misty and Pikachu exchanged unimpressed looks before Ash led the way to the roof door. Psyduck unlocked it and the group was inside.

Ash led the way down the stair well. Psyduck walked just behind him. The two were both seeing ahead into the hall and found no one leading to the stairs below. The halls were simple white well-lit halls with several doors leading to empty offices. Ash ignored them when Psyduck confirmed no one was inside. Ash just wanted to go down four floors to the sources of the energy.

At the fire exit the group moved down three floors but found that was the end of the road. 'Psyduck sees several people in two different labs on this floor. None of them seem to have any pokemon. All of them are working.' Ash said absently.

While he knew he wanted to keep Misty in the loop, his mind was focusing on what Psyduck was seeing. Misty took the pair of blank looks from Ash and Psyduck in stride. She had never seen them really share thoughts like this. And all of yesterday, Ash had his eyes closed. It still gave her shivers to see him look like he was not all there.

The group walked down the hall. Psyduck summoned a clipboard from the empty room that had a stack of papers. Ash plucked the clipboard out of the air. It had some kind of reads from the previous day. Psyduck had found the path to reach the lower level through the elevator along with an obstacle.

Ash urgently called over his shoulder, 'Pretend you belong here.'

When the elevator doors chimed they reached their floor, Ash was already prepared for the man that stood in it. 'Hypnosis.' Psyduck's eyes glowed as the elevator opened.

The man looked up in surprise. 'Who are you people?'

Ash was unsure what the man saw, but he gave the scientist a dead eyed look.

'Get back in there. We will need you with us to do the inspection.' Ash said confidently. His blank gaze stared up at the man.

'Inspection?'

'You didn't think we forgot about it did you? How is the project going?' Ash walked into the elevator with Misty and their pokemon. Ash did not even look at the man he was browsing the clip board. The readings were about something that they were trying to see if the mind was responding to their tests. Ash glared at the words test subject. Ash looked up at the man.

'Well?' Ash gave his best leveled glare at the man. Misty just watched the two interact unsure how to digest what she was seeing. She looked at Pikachu only for him to look just as surprised.

Misty internally relaxed when she found it was not something Ash normally did. She was not sure how she could handle Ash constantly bluffing his way into things.

'The progress is slow. It is not responding to stimuli. But the body is stable and healthy.'

Ash gave aggravated growl. 'Let me guess. The mind is active but you don't know why he has not woken up.' _Psyduck get ready for the whole floor. We need to do it in one go._

Psyduck nodded and moved both hands to his head to concentrate.

At the same time the scientist nodded. The elevator clicked and the doors opened to the bottom level. There was a gust of energy that flowed into the room and Ash sighed when everyone looked up and did not suddenly demand why children were in their lab.

Ash took a moment to digest that these people had been cloning pokemon. He had heard of scientists cloning extinct pokemon before. But them to be so oblivious of what type of pokemon they were cloning seemed completely ridiculous. Ash looked away from the clip board asking the same question he found an answer to on the stack of papers he just read. 'Do you know what kind of pokemon it is?'

'The pokemon we cloned him from was thought to be a normal type pokemon. It was theorized he may have been part psychic but this clone has shown no signs of being psychic at all.'

Ash suddenly had a headache at what the man just admitted. 'You idiot, I have psychics as far as Cinnabar sensing something is off. The subject is just looking around. It's not even focusing on whats happening to its body.'

The scientist just gaped at the boy. 'Sir, are you psychic too?'

Ash shook his head. 'It would be easier if I was. I was just sent here. I barely know what is going on my self. What is the project called?'

'Lazarus. Mewtwo is in early stages of development. But the body should be fully grown as an adult in a few months...'

The scientist led the group past a security check point Ash did not realize was on that level. They group entered the main hall and it opened into several labs. Ash just started marching ahead on his own. He could feel where Mewtwo was now.

Misty had to say she was impressed. Ash simply commanded and the older man obeyed. She would have to ask if that is how he talked to everyone when he was annoyed. She followed behind the group and only realized now that Pikachu was following her, not Ash.

She looked over to the mouse. 'You my defender?'

Pikachu looked around carefully but nodded with a, 'Pikah.'

Misty felt warmed at the gesture. While she felt there was no immediate danger for them, they could still get into royal trouble like fines and jail time if these guys started asking too many questions they did not have answers to.

Ash for his part wished he was able to find out definitively if the scientists were a part of Viridian Works. He was not sure if what they were doing was illegal or not, but the fact that they were sitting on a ticking time bomb did not sit well with him.

When the group entered the main lab Ash found exactly what he was looking for. In a single tube the size of a bathtub was a floating pokemon he had never seen before. It was just a little larger than Psyduck and it had several sensors attached to him. Ash looked around to the scientists who started to stand up. Ash needed to make sure they didn't start asking too many questions. He saw a large computer read out with waves going across it in tight scribbles.

'You there,' Ash pointed to the scientist that was nearest to the read out. Ash quickly thought near what time he met Giovanni. 'How was the activity approximately seven thirty last night?'

The scientists exchanged glances at the sudden question.

Bingo.

'There was a burst of activity for about twenty seconds before it abruptly cut itself off.'

Ash walked up to the tube where the pokemon they called Mewtwo was resting silently in its own sleep. 'You would think.' The scientists looked at him. His tone was hard and angry. 'That if you were working on a psychic pokemon, you would have psychics and their pokemon present to monitor his mind.' He gave the closet scientist a cold glare before Psyduck levitated a chair for Ash to sit in front of the glass tube. Psyduck moved into position to levitate next to Ash. Ash held his hand to the glass.

Ash felt a name pulled out of his Psyducks' mind. 'Falton.'

One scientist walked over to him. 'Tell your men to evacuate the compound. Mewtwo has been building so much power that if he focuses on us the island is likely going to implode.' There was a murmuring from the other five people present.

The man nodded before calling for an emergency evacuation. 'I need two volunteers to stay behind with me and my partners.' Ash said absently. His back was still turned to a group who felt they should still be there to monitor the readout.

'We have it sir. We never did ask for your name.'

Ash turned to smile at him. 'We'll probably die before you would be able to remember it. Really. What were you thinking not monitoring his psychic power.'

Ahs turned back to the tube and watched the bubbles in the liquid bath. Slowly the bubbles began to multiply. Psyduck allowed them both to be hypnotized by the air bubbles.

Time stopped.

Ash and Psyduck flew over a massive mountain range. The sky was cold and Ash felt they were following something. It was a small pokemon that looked like a very frail mouse.

 _Hello._ Ash thought to the sky. He realized it was some kind of memory. He had to make Mewtwo stop stretching its mind across the country.

 _You are going to hurt everything around you if you don't stop looking for that memory._ Ash in a quiet murmur laughed at himself. 'Of course. Think like a Psychic pokemon thinks.'

Instead of seeing the memory Ash found himself showing the image of Psyduck seeing everything with his own mental eye. Then he thought the image of Psyduck pulling back. He pictured someone pulling something. He saw a mental image of Psyduck hearing lesson one. Ash thought of the scientists listening and learning. It was thought that was plucked from the pokemon's mind.

Slowly although he used less of Mewtwo memories and more of his own Ash started organizing his memories to give Mewtwo a full picture of what he should do.

Ash remembered watching Psyduck and Pikachu laugh and play together. He thought of all the instructions and things he learned from Sabrina. He remembered what it felt to have a mind brush against his. What it felt like to have Pikachu's energy surround him. And what it felt like when it faded.

Psyduck helped make every memory and image as clear as possible before sending it to Mewtwo. His mind was stressed from the effort but Psyduck knew what his trainer was doing.

Ash thought of his first memories of Nurse Joy and Psyduck. Ash remembered the emotion and relief of being weakened when Psyduck pulled back his thoughts for the first time. He thought of the time Psyduck pulled back his mind in his fight with Eggs and how the crowd reacted.

Ash opened his eyes. Misty gave an intake of air in surprise. Ash's eyes glowed violet. 'Mewtwo you can do this too. If you can hear me. Then use what you just learned.'

*snap*

Ash was prepared for the whooshing effect that was pulled out of him but the remaining people in the room were not. Misty was busy trying to not give them away when the effects were felt. She turned back to Ash.

Ash saw her reflection in the glass tube. He shook his head. They weren't out of the woods yet. The sucking motion that ran through them was not stopping. Misty turned back to a scientist. 'Will Mewtwo be alright if we take him out of the suspension tube?'

'He would live, but we would loose any progress of our tests. We have been working on them for years.'

Misty glared at him. 'You have a living being waking up. One you created. One who is likely incredibly intelligent. If you don't treat him with at least with the same respect you would pokemon then you will have a lot more problems than the fact he woke up early. This sucking motion is his _mind_ pulling back to his body. How would you like to wake to a tube.' Misty's gruff reply was emphasized with Pikachu's own growl.

'He will be fine for now, but get him out of it. Good morning Mewtwo.' Violet energy smoked from Ash's eyes. Finally, Ash pulled back his hand from the glass tube. The sucking motion continued but it had definitely slowed. Eventually the energy stilled.

Mewtwo's eyes were open and he looked around. Ash got off his chair and knelt down to Psyduck. Psyduck had just flopped to the floor.

'You did an amazing job Psyduck. You did far more than I could ever ask of you. Thank you.'

Psyduck breathlessly quacked but layed down to rest. Ash picked him up and looked over to Mewtwo. Over his shoulder he called. 'Drain and open it. I am not asking, I am giving you a direct order.'

Mewtwo seemed amused at something. Ash realized he could feel the bluffs Ash was doing. Ash winked at him and put a free hand to his mouth to have one finger of his lips. He coly mouthed out: It's a secret.

Mewtwo's shoulders seemed to shake on his own.

 _You are an interesting one. Aren't you?_

Ash smiled. 'My friends seem to think so. The scientists were getting ready to ask if you need anything from them before they leave.' Ash turned back to the scientists.

'We are still in danger. He's awake but the power is just sitting in him. Go now, shoo. Tell the higher ups we got him awake and if we don't explode come back in a day.'

The group started running to the elevator no doubt looking for the last of the emergency ships to leave the island. Ash sighed and shook his head. Ash and Misty shared a smile the the scientists as they scrambled out of the room. 'Not all humans are like them Mewtwo. But even I forget my surroundings if I stay too focused on a goal. It looks like you are like that too right?'

Mewtwo looked at him curiously before thinking of his memory of flying with Mew. Mewtwo slowly nodded. He had not known where he adopted the gesture until he really began to understand what this trainer did. _You trained me to control my powers._

Misty walked up to Ash and looped her arm around his. It was an unconscious action, but it was a gesture to keep them both comforted and relaxed.

'I did what I could with all my memories. You have every thing I learned while working with Psyduck. It's not all the knowledge there is to psychic pokemon training. But it was the best I can do. I can't say you can fully control your powers, but you have a good idea of what you are actually doing to everything around you. At least you won't hurt anyone or your self right away. But you are very powerful. It hurts when you talk by the way. Can you try and talk once in your normal voice then talk quieter?'

Mewtwo looked at them. _My voice is too loud..._ Mewtwo closed his eyes remember it before thinking with less force. _Is this better?_

Ash smiled and nodded. 'Thank you we appreciate it. What are you going to do now? The scientists said you were healthy enough but I am not a scientist my self. Will you cooperate with them to learn more about yourself, or do you want to go find out everything on your own?'

Ash was genuinely curious.

 _I... Am not sure. I can see the whole world from here, but I believe that is how you found me._

Ash nodded. 'You were doing what Psyduck was doing. It is very dangerous and while it did not seem to hurt you, it could be you didn't go far enough to strain yourself like Psyduck.' Psyduck slowly looked up and tiredly looked at Mewtwo. He quacked and reached out for Mewtwo. Mewtwo was curious but reached out his hand to Psyduck to see what the yellow pokemon wanted.

Both of their eyes flashed a silver blue color before Mewtwo pulled back absorbing what the small pokemon showed him.

'Are you alright Mewtwo?' Misty asked. He stood there dazed.

 _Psyduck showed me what it was like before you trained him. It is a warning if I don't learn to control my powers._

Ash smiled at his partner. 'Thank you Psyduck. You are so going to not do anything but play with a TV for a week.' Ash teased.

Mewtwo shook his shoulders in a laugh. It came out as a horse noise in his throat. He had seen enough memories to get a good grasp of their relationship.

 _I will go see the world on my own._ Mewtwo looked around himself. It was a gesture he had recognized Psyduck do when he looked for a place to teleport.

'If you need anything come find me.' Ash said with a slight smile to his lips.

The group stood back as Mewtwo remembered how Ash said good bye, and waved at the pair in gratitude. A wash of violet energy began to envelop him. The next moment a loud crack shook the room and he was gone.

Mist fell to the floor. 'That was scary.'

She looked around the room and saw the place haphazardly in disarray. 'We are in so much trouble.'

Ash laughed but shook his head. 'Not really. We got some time. Let's wait and see if anyone comes.'

'What?'

Ash shrugged. 'I mean the Pokemon League. Every psychic probably felt what was going on over here. I am sure they will come. We'll be honest. It's not like we could stop Mewtwo if he wanted to do anything. I was just treating him like a respectable person.'

Misty giggled. 'I would hate to have been your traveling buddy if you are this relaxed about it.'

Ash smiled while he picked up Psyduck. 'You feel better now that the hum is gone?'

Psyduck tiredly nodded before he fell asleep. Ash recalled him and turned to Pikachu. 'Well looks like we are here for a bit. let's go to the roof and see if anyone is coming by air.'

-o-

Ash had found and raided the company kitchens for snacks. The group was in the middle of a make shift lunch of unhealthy sweets and salty chips.

Misty looked over to Ash to say something innocuous before there was a brief flash of light. The first zip sound was echoed across the landing. When it was all done over twenty people stood looking around cautiously. Ash saw the one man he was hoping to see.

'Will!'

Will was horrified to see any trainer out here. 'What are you two doing here!' Will took off the mask that fit over his eyes. He tapped his pokedex and started ordering people to search the place before looking back to Ash.

'Psyduck had a headache and we followed it here. We thought the source would be a wild pokemon. Didn't Sabrina send you a message?' Ash frowned. He was counting on her to find Will.

Misty looked between the two before adding. 'Ash was worried about the amount of energy being built up and we decided to find out what it was exactly before calling for help.'

Will looked at the two kids before he pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Do you two know how dangerous this place is?'

Ash laughed. 'It's probably not as dangerous as it was before this pokemon settled his thoughts. He's gone by the way. He decided he wanted to leave.'

Will nodded. He closed his eyes and felt around the building for himself. 'This is interesting. The place is abandoned?'

Ash blushed before attempting to stutter out what he did. Misty added helpfully, 'Ash said the place was going to blow and told the people to evacuate.'

Ash huffed. 'It would have if Mewtwo didn't learn how to control his powers.'

Will looked at the two seriously. 'I think you will need to explain this to more than just me. Every psychic in every direction knows this island exists now. If we could feel it, people as far as Hoenn felt it too.'

The group looked at a shimmer that began to bend the world into a bubble before it popped. Sabrina looked around while Lance and Bruno walked past her to look at the island itself. '-I am sure we would be hearing this story a few times Lance. Just give us a minute. I am sorry we are late,' Sabrina walked up to them and gave Ash an exasperated look. 'When I could not get ahold of Will I went to ask Agatha to find me these two. Hello Ash, Misty it is good to see you both.'

Both Misty and Ash felt very young and guilty when Sabrina talked to them in that tone.

'Hello.' Ash said in forced cheer.

Sabrina looked at him as if waiting for a reaction. 'Oh Ash.' Sabrina looked at him sadly. 'What did you do?'

Ash looked at her. It took him a moment to realize he knew what she was doing. But he couldn't...

'I'm not feeling your mind at all Sabrina.'

Sabrina nodded.

Ash looked over to Psyduck who was quietly asleep. He had his mind open to the little pokemon. But again he felt no reaction.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews!

I want to say I planned this to land on chapter 10 but I totally did not do it on purpose. I was not even planning on having Mewtwo appear in this story at all, but again the story took off on its own.

I am releasing this one before the one I wanted to finish is even close to being done. So I am going to take a break from the releases to allow my self to catch up. A few chapters down the road forced me to rewrite the next chapter completely. Ug. But every thing seems to be coming together smoothly. Winter Holidays are making me work more than I wanted and I am not getting the time I wanted to sit down and hammer chapters out over coffee like I normally do.

I usually write half a chapter in the morning of one of my two days off and go back and review/edit the chapter I am posting the night of. Hence I still miss stuff.


	11. Chapter 11: Lost

Chapter 11

Sabrina smiled at her challenger. The young man was just now getting to his third gym. He had started late and it showed in his little experience with his pokemon. Sabrina new the boy would not be able to get his gym badge with this particular challenge. 'Good job Abra.'

The boy took out his next ball and released it. 'Try your best Bellsprout!'

The plant pokemon blinked small black eyes at the Abra.

Sabrina was going to say something kind in encouragement when her whole body shook and shuddered at the pull against her mind and body. She wrapped her arms around her. At the same time the doors to an office on the observation deck opened. 'Sabrina?'

Sabrina recalled Abra. 'I felt it too. I am sorry I will need to step away for a moment.' Back to the observation deck Sabrina asked, 'Can you take over for me Amanda?'

'Of course Sabrina.'

Sabrina allowed her mind to unfold on itself. Dark blue energy enveloped her before her body blinked. Inside the office she went to gather her strongest pokemon before she would call the Pokemon League Headquarters. A single message was missed during her gym battle. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard her own voice ask her to play the message.

Ash stood in front of her with a grim voice and telling her exactly what she would need to do. She swore and closed the message before calling to Blaine. The channel was not responding. 'They must still be having some kind of gathering today for the drawings.' She closed the channel and hesitated a moment before she dialed another number.

Immediately an old woman answered the call. 'Agatha, what do you want?'

'Good morning Agatha, I am Sabrina of the Saffron Gym. I was given a priority one message and am in route to Old Shore Island in the Orange Islands. I tried to call Blaine for back up and am unable to reach them. I need to have Will go with me.'

Agatha already made the correlation between Sabrina and her request for Will's presence. 'How big of a psychic pokemon is it?'

'I am able to feel it from here Agatha. Hurry. I am heading to Cinnabar island now.'

'With luck he is already on his way if you feel it. But I'll send a message to Lance and Bruno to wait for you.'

Sabrina nodded before she closed the channel. 'Alakazam.' She released her partner. 'Teleport us to Blaine's Gym.' She projected an image of the inn to her pokemon who closed his eyes and honed in on the location.

After a few moments he cried out, 'ALA-KAZAM'.

The pair disappeared into a flash of light.

-o-

Sabrina sighed in relief when she found Lance and Bruno waiting. The energy was warmer here. As if they were soaked in psychic energy as much as they were in the humidity. She looked around briefly but no one else seemed to have noticed. 'I see you are bringing the whole army Lance.'

'Will said bring everyone, and we know he isn't the kind of kid to exaggerate. It took longer than we thought but most of the attendees volunteered. And many have at least one psychic pokemon with them.'

Bruno looked around at the trainers as they were preparing to teleport with their pokemon. 'Is it that bad Sabrina? This feels over kill for a pokemon.'

Sabrina was one of the few trainers who were accomplished psychics but she could spot a few trainers who had some basic ability in the crowd based on their reactions to the energy. 'It's like I am sitting in a psychic pokemon's mind. I don't know how else to describe it. Its just energy everywhere.'

Bruno frowned as he waved for the groups to form up.

'I am more curious how the hell you got that notice so quickly Sabrina.' Lance said as he grabbed ahold of her shoulder. Bruno matched his movement and prepared himself for the teleport.

'I had an anonymous tip from a trainer. But really,' Sabrina's energy flared and group disappeared under her power.

The world shifted and bent around the group before it snapped back into place. Sabrina took one step to help her equilibrium. Sabrina felt her breath catch in her throat. If Cinnabar islands was an uncomfortable humidity of psychic energy. This place was like an inferno of raw power. Sabrina fell into her mind to keep her composure as she continued, '-I am sure we would be hearing this story a few times Lance. Just give me a moment.' Sabrina walked away from the group and gave an annoyed huff at Ash and Misty. Misty moved her hands in front of here and looked down. Ash looked up and away unable to meet her gaze.

Neither saw the amused look she gave them. 'I am sorry we are late. When I could not get ahold of Will I went to ask Agatha to find these two. Hello Ash, Misty, it is good to see you both.'

 _This is a fine mess you made for me Ash._ She added teasingly.

Ash grimaced at Sabrina. 'Hello.' said replied cheerfully. But he did not appear to have heard her.

 _Ash?_ A heavy pit fell in Sabrina's stomach. _Ash please tell me you can hear me._

'Oh Ash,' Sabrina felt at a loss. 'What did you do?'

Ash blinked before his eyes widened. 'I'm not feeling your mind at all Sabrina.'

Ash looked helplessly to his psyduck. Sabrina digested it all before she snapped out of her stupor. She could feel sorrow for this later. 'Lance we need to get them out of here. What ever happened here is resonating with both Ash and Psyduck.'

Sabrina walked over to Ash and Misty. 'I am sorry this may aggravate it all, but you all should not be sitting in this pool of energy. It's making your condition worse.' Ash and Misty were gripped on the shoulders while Ash recalled his pokemon. He looked over his shoulder to Sabrina.

'I am ready.'

Sabrina gave him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder before they disappeared.

-o-

Blaine had gone to speak directly to the Kanto Home Security when he got back. Lance had said that was a Kanto owned government facility. Most of what was being said around Ash seemed important. And if it was any other time he would happily listen and learn what he could. But now that he noticed it, he realized how quiet it was. The noise around him was background static to him. But the noise. The presence he always felt with his pokemon was just gone. It seemed like hours for Ash but it only took ten minutes for the trainers to secure the facility and transport the group back to Blaine's hotel. The group had a long conversation back in Blaine's hotel. Ash stood still. His mind was a blank as if he was trying to recall just how he was able to reach and feel for the energy around him.

'Agatha teleported to the hotel as soon as she was able to get a psychic that was strong enough to teleport her and her pokemon. She is coming upstairs now.' Lance announced as he walked back into the room.

Ash had only heard of the name but already knew that Agatha was one of the other members of the Elite four. Ash felt disorientated about the fact he could not sense Psyduck nor Pikachu for that matter. Apparently he was not the only one who was upset. Sabrina looked close to tears as she yelled at him.

'Ash. Look at me.' Ash suddenly felt like Psyduck as he felt himself refocusing in the now.

'Sorry Sabrina, I just-'

Sabrina gave him a sad look. 'I know Ash. It's not just gone. There is nothing there now. It's like you're irradiated and a giant void. It's disturbing.'

After a moment Sabrina stepped back before she did something she would very much like to do. A gym leader shouldn't hug a gym trainer. 'You understand now why it was so dangerous to leave your self open to such a powerful mind? If your psyduck was not there to filter the damage you could have gone catatonic and would never have recovered.' Sabrina just started at him and her mind felt as if she was looking into a black light. Finally she turned away. 'It was exceedingly stupid. And you Misty! You know better than to-'

Misty flinched again. She looked over to Pikachu who was hiding behind her. None of them had escaped her gaze.

'That's enough Sabrina. We have more immediate concerns to deal with.' Ash looked over to the old woman who walked with a cane and a haunter who trailed behind her. She had silver hair and a wrinkled piercing eyes that looked right through him. She walked up to Ash. 'Release your pokemon young one.'

Ash looked around but complied and released them. Snorlax raised his sleepy head long enough to see that he was in the conference room before falling back asleep unconcerned with the people who were staring at his trainer. Ash smiled at the big buy before letting it fall when he saw the old woman give Snorlax an angry look. It moved over to Psyduck who fell down to the floor next to Ash. He looked tired and just leaned against Ash's leg.

She did it for each of his pokemon and Misty. 'How long were you in the presence of this psychic pokemon?'

Ash thought about it. 'Not too long. Maybe thirty minutes. But I had Psyduck help me relay memories to him.' Agatha gave an ah of enlightenment.

'That makes sense then. Misty, trainer, you are both fortunate to have come out of that with such little damage.'

Ash exchanged looks with Misty. 'What kind of damage ma'am.'

Agatha gave Ash a crooked uncomfortable smile. 'The pokemon you had shared memories with left a very large imprint on your mind. Both you and your Psyduck boy. Misty seemed to only have a fraction of what you received. She should be fine. But I will need you to come with me for a while. That imprint needs to be taken care of.'

Ash asked finally. 'I am sorry ma'am who are you?' Ash looked over to Misty for hints. Misty just smiled at his cluelessness.

'My name is Agatha. I am one of the Elite Four and a trained master of ghost pokemon.'

'Then your the one Will trains under.' Ash looked over to Will who grinned at him and nodded. Suddenly all of those jokes Will said about being old made sense.

'Yes I am. And right now boy, you have a dangerous amount of latent psychic energy in you and your Psyduck. We'll need to obtain a source of ghost pokemon energy to help siphon it out of you.'

Ash stared at her as she walked away. Agatha impatiently ordered him. 'Get a move on boy. I want this done and over with. You can have your inquisition later Lance.' She gave him a look that dared him to argue. He simply waved his hands in surrender before watching the pair walk away. Ash recalled his pokemon and turned to Misty. She smiled at the hurried look. He paused for a moment before he stepped forward to give her a hug.

'It was great seeing you again. I don't know where I'm going. Will you still be here for a few days or are you going back early?'

'Boy! Let's go. You can talk to the girl in a few weeks.'

Ash grimaced at one of his questions being answered. Misty wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly. 'I guess I'll go home. You still owe me a tour of a city Mr. Ketchum. Go get healed. And please stay safe this time OK?' Misty ran a hand through his hair before stepping back.

'You better run after her Ash. She is not a patient woman.' Lance added helpfully. Ash nodded and sprinted out the door.

Sabrina turned to Misty with a raised eyebrow. 'Hey we are just friends. Janine is the one that is chasing after him.' She waved her arms to emphasis the point.

Sabrina gave a weak laugh before she walked out the door and back to her pokemon. She had a lot to think about.

Misty scratched her head and looked up to the ceiling. 'This sucks.'

-o-

Ash skidded to a halt. Agatha looked at him and nodded before she turned to Will. 'Take us to The Graveyard.'

Will closed his eyes. Ash felt the energy envelope them. Ash was impressed. Will did not need to keep physical contact like Psyduck did. The world bent around Ash and it snapped back into place a moment later. He felt him self nearly fall over from the abrupt movement but caught himself before looking at the other two. They had simply took a step and stopped.

'Ash was it?'

'Yes ma'am.'

Agatha started leading the way. Her haunter flew next to her and her cane clanked with ever step. Ash started noticing things about the place they teleported to. The "Graveyard" was a massive field covered in mist. If Ash allowed himself to lag behind he could easily see how he could get lost. The sound seemed to echo off the ground. It gave the feeling that this place had no sense of direction. Ash turned back to Agatha and realized she was not leading. Her Haunter was.

'Ash boy. I have heard of you.' She said while still looking forward.

'Ma'am?'

Agatha humphed at his response to her statement. 'It's neither a complement nor a put down boy. It was just an observation. You youngsters really have no idea how fortunate you were to not see the war.'

Her voice sounded tired and sad. Ash stayed silent. When he looked to Will he stared intently at his master's back.

'The psychic imprint you have is reminiscent to one I have seen as part of a weapon during the war Ash. This pokemon you faced could have destroyed the minds of everyone within miles of the island had he felt inclined.'

Ash frowned and felt he needed to defend him. 'He wouldn't do that. Mewtwo was more surprised to have woken up and find he was an experiment. But when I asked if he wanted to stay or go, he felt that either way could have been a good option.'

Agatha turned to him with a glare. 'And how would you know that?'

'I just know.' Ash paused suddenly realizing it was a certainty he should not have felt.

Agatha shook her head. 'I believe you. That is why I am worried. You didn't just link with your pokemon's mind. You linked with this Mewtwo's as well. You linked with a mind so powerful it had genetic memory borne from the power of the original pokemon. Genetic pokemon research.'

Agatha paused before she spat. 'What a stupid field. Why would anyone want to build a better pokemon? Training the ones we live with is hard enough.'

Agatha paused and looked ahead. 'They are strong enough.'

Ash and Will exchanged glances. They had been walking for some time in the mist. Ash had no idea if they were even going in a straight line.

'You said you have seen what happened to me before?'

'Aye. A sycosis weapon. It was used to inflict mental damage to pokemon and trainers alike. Our soldiers had no clue what happened to them. Battalions were wiped out in a matter of days. But the horrible part was that, to this day, we don't know when our soldiers had been exposed to it. It could have been during a single offensive, multiple offensives or none related events. It was only through ghost pokemon that we were able to find it was an actual psychic attack.'

Ash listened but had never heard of such a thing happening in his history class. But they rarely talked about gory details.

'Were the weapons never found?'

'Oh they were found. Orre had to give up all research for them when they surrendered. Those bastards had always been more interested in weapons than pokemon.'

Will interrupted them. 'We are here.'

Ash looked ahead. Haunter flew ahead of them as the mist broke. In front of them was a mausoleum. It was made of dark blue stone.

'This is the highest concentration of ghost pokemon in Kanto Ash. Go in and find the base floor three levels below. There is a statue that has been absorbing the negative energy of the pokemon for years that we will be using for your treatment.'

Ash looked at the two of them. 'I am going in alone?'

Agatha's steady look silenced him. 'Go in and experience the feeling of ghost pokemon first hand boy. You will need to get used to it for the treatment. Take out our Psyduck as well. He will need to experience this pressure of ghost pokemon as well. We'll come in after you in four hours if you do not come back by then.'

Ash released Psyduck and started walking in. Ash turned on a flash light as the halls got darker. Agatha and Will silently waited until he was out of sight. Agatha turned to her Haunter. The pokemon laughed before following after Ash. Agatha sighed and walked to a stone that was high enough to sit on.

Will was thinking about the whole process before turning to Agatha. 'Why is he going in alone?'

Agatha frowned. 'My aura is too strong to be any use to the boy. I natrually repel the ghost energy and it protects me and those who are near by Will. The trip would be meaningless if I went in. And you would be worthless in there.'

Will smiled before he looked back to the entrance. 'You think this will actually work? I've seen ghost energy suppress psychic energy, but never take it.'

Agatha massaged her leg. It was stiff from the cool air. 'I am not sure my self. But this is different from the damage from the war victims. The subject was willing and for Mewtwo's lack of real understanding, he was incredibly gentle on the boy's mind compared to how much power he generated before Ash reached out to the pokemon's mind. That idiot.'

Will laughed. 'That idiot did avoid a catastrophe. That lab was a joint project with Viridian Works and Kanto Public Safety. The technicians vastly underestimated the power they were working on with that test subject. As it is, Lance is having his hands full covering the whole thing up saying it was a few unidentified trainers who had psychic pokemon who warned us.'

Agatha snorted. 'Isn't that what happened? They just showed a little initiative and some poor judgment to go ahead with out waiting.'

Will shook his head. 'No, Ash never contacted us. We just felt the pull. Really It was only his responsibility to wait for the authorities that made us know what exactly happened.'

Agatha smiled at the idea of the government and the league never knowing what would have happened. 'I suppose it was a good thing that he felt responsibility for the mess he made.'

Will gave her an annoyed look. 'Agatha remember I was on Cinnabar when the power collected. No one suspected that we were enveloped in that much passive psychic energy. Ash can be excused for not knowing how massive it was. His ability to sense energy is barely in its infantile state. It likely will never fully develop now thanks to Mewtwo. That's what has gotten Sabrina all mad by the way. She just saw someone who has had a unique ability suddenly and permanently loose it. And there was no one at fault.'

Agatha humm'ed at that.

-o-

Ash walked carefully. Psyduck was still exhausted so Ash had to do something he had not done in months. He put Psyduck in his backpack. Psyduck tiredly looked around behind Ash. Periodically Ash would ask Psyduck to try and reach out to him. Psyduck would answer a negative when he could not feel Ash's mind.

Ash sighed but would encourage his friend. 'Don't worry about it Psyduck. We are in an area with Ghost pokemon too. Just being near them can affect it too. But...'

Ash would think about how upset Sabrina looked and it would haltingly come to him that he may have lost that mental connection to Psyduck and by extension to the rest of his pokemon. Ash exhaled out all of the anxiety just as if Psyduck could feel it. It would do no good to get distracted now. Ash had seen a few ghost pokemon that had revealed them selves to him. They seemed more interested in going about their own business than harass them.

Ash finally found the steps going down to the level below them. Ash would have believe there was no level if it was not for Agatha telling him otherwise. The mausoleum was a maze of corridors. Ash did not realize how large the building was until he made the connection that the mausoleum was probably being obscured by most of the mist when he first saw it.

'Psyduck we are about to go down some stairs. Just hang on buddy.'

Ash was concerned for his partner. He did not get a chance to check up on his pokemon since Will found them. Psyduck seemed tired then, but he looked healthy. Down here Psyduck looked exhausted and almost gaunt when Ash looked. Psyduck did not show signs that he had a headache. It worried Ash.

Ash found that the second floor was much smaller than the first. He was immensely grateful. The shadows he cast with his flash light moved around him on their own.

'If you want to follow us, can you please just walk beside me? We are both exhausted and really don't have time for games.'

The black shadow connected to Ash moved and shifted to normal. Ash moved his flashlight so it casted a larger shadow of himself against the corridor wall. Slowly a black arm popped out followed by a pair of pointed ears and another arm that tried to pull out of Ash's shadow.

The little pokemon grunted a 'Gen!' before waving his arms trying to get all the way out.

Ash looked at the black pokemon for a moment. Finally he started to giggle at the absurdity he was watching. 'Are... You stuck?'

The Gengar started flailing his hands around asking for help. Ash set the flash light down so he was casting a darker shadow against the wall and turned to pull the little Gengar's hands out of his shadow. Gengar finally relaxed and flopped on his rear. He panted slightly and looked at Ash curiously.

'Were you just curious?'

Gengar grunted and jumped back up and looked at the flash light curiously before rolling it to cast another shadow of a rock. It popped its arm into shadow easily and pulled it out. It then chattered another 'Gengar-gar.'

Gengar ran over to Ash's shadow and pushed. Ash saw that Gengar just hit something solid. Ash began to understand what was happening. 'Just a sec Psyduck I am sorry. I am setting you down for a moment.'

Ash set down Psyduck who looked sleepily at Gengar and waved before he curled back into Ash's backpack and fell asleep.

Ash touched his shadow and just felt the cool ground. It looked normal to him. But Gengar was affected by it some how. 'I am sorry Gengar. I am down here to fix a psychic um- imprint.' Ash took a moment to recall what they said happened to him. 'I have a bunch of psychic energy in me. That is probably a side affect. But if you have such a hard time getting into my shadow how did you get in there the first place?'

Gengar started waving his hands and gesturing to the shadows from the flash light. He then gave an excited grunt as he pretended to get dragged along with Ash.

'You got caught in my shadow just by me walking by where you were resting?'

Gengar nodded before grunting 'Gengar GenGen!' He pointed to Psyduck.

Ash looked at his teammate. 'Yeah he does not look good. I am down here trying to get a stone from the third floor. Do you know how to get down there?'

Gengar nodded and started leading the way. Ash cast his flash light ahead and Gengar flinched. 'Oh sorry Gengar. You don't like that do you?'

Gengar waved his hands and pointed up at the ceiling. Ash smiled at the idea. 'Good idea Gengar. That should still help me see.' Ash pointed the flash light at the ceiling. The light was still illuminated the halls but not directly on top of Gengar.

The trip to the third floor was fast. Ash was thankful when the third floor was even smaller than the last one. It was only two hall ways and five rooms. Ash looked around at the many name plates he walked by where pokemon and people were lain to rest. Ash was beginning to see how this place was built. This floor was the first. And they built the ones above them as more people were buried. Ash was not sure who was buried here. Most of the plates had long since faded. Ash recognized a statue of a pokemon that had disappeared four hundred years ago. It was a guardian of some kind that protected the doors to the last room. Ash found a stone coffin. On closer inspection Ash saw it was not even a tomb. It was just a stone table. It was raised to nearly his chest. On it stood a small stone statue that signified prayers for the deceased. Ash felt reluctant in taking it.

Ash bowed deeply to the statue. 'Please forgive us for disturbing your resting place. I am in need of this stone's aid. I will return you to your rightful home soon.' Ash walked ahead and took the stone. Ash felt the emptiness of the mausoleum feel colder around him. He looked around. He could not feel energy but he could still feel the hundreds of eyes look on him and quietly judging.

Gengar who had stood next to him wilted at the looks as well. He pulled Ash's leg to encourage him to go. The pokemon quietly turned into a shadow cast on the wall and disappeared. 'Thank you for your help. I'll return this as soon as I can.'

Ash found his way out of the tomb quicker now that he knew where to go. The last hall felt as if the walls were alive. It was like all of the ghost pokemon were disturbed when he took the stone. Ash exhaled when he was outside.

'Welcome back Ash. I am surprised you were able to get it and get out so fast.'

Ash examined the small statue when he first heard Will. He looked to his right and found both Agatha and Will stand. 'I had a small Gengar help me out. Did you know a gengar could get trapped in a shadow?'

Will frowned at the information but Agatha waved her hand at him. 'I was expecting there would be side affects. That was why I had my Haunter follow you. You are in no condition to fight Ghost pokemon.' Haunter appeared beside Agatha. She petted him gently before looking back to Ash.

'It seems you had made a friend if he is willing to leave his home to see you.' She looked past Ash to what was behind him.

Ash turned to see Gengar looking at him. He smiled and set Psyduck down. Psyduck was awake and quacked at the gengar in greeting.

'Hello again. What are you doing out here?'

Agatha sighed at the boy. 'He probably wants to go with you. If you get a ghost pokemon curious, he will follow his curiosity until it is satisfied. You effectively captured him when he was stuck in your shadow. Throw a pokeball at him to make it official. We need to go.'

Ash looked at Gengar and reached his hand out to the black pokemon. Gengar walked up to Ash and slapped Ash's hand. Ash looked up surprised. Did he not want to come? He laughed when Gengar smiled and did the same to his hand. Ash slapped his hand down on Gengar's. The pair then did a high five. Ash pulled a pokeball from his bag and tossed it at the ghost pokemon. The gengar gave a happy laugh as it was pulled into the pokeball and clicked with one touch.

Ash picked up the pokeball and scratched his head. 'Well this was... We'll I can't say it was different.'

Will laughed when Agatha asked him what he meant by that. Ash looked to the older woman. 'Each one of my pokemon have joined me in a different way.' Ash placed the pokeball on his belt and recalled Psyduck who waved at the group sleepily.

'So what do we do with this?' Ash lifted the small stone statue.

Agatha took it. 'We are using this as a focus to draw the energy out of you. Come now. Let's head back to the Plateau.'

Will closed his eyes and spread his arms to the group. In a flash they were gone.

-o-

Misty's plane landed in Cerulean by mid afternoon. Ash had left with Agatha yesterday. Misty spent that day in town while she waited for a booked flight back home. The time was bitter sweet. She had liked Cinnabar. She just wished she had friends with her when she experienced for a second time. Misty walked into the gym and let the feelings wash away when she showered.

There was no point in being sad for something that could not be helped. It was really a miracle that neither Ash nor she got jail time or fines. Lance was just happy to see they had avoided something they had not anticipated. Misty was more mystified why no one seemed to be too concerned about a powerful psychic pokemon was just loose and running around. But Ash had argued that Mewtwo was not dangerous and apparently that carried weight. She was not sure if she could have made that argument. But Both Sabrina and Will had said Ash was in a mind link with the pokemon while Mewtwo mind was forming. If Ash was convinced that Mewtwo was not a danger, Lance said there would be no search by the League for the test subject.

Misty got out of the shower thinking about what Lance said. Maybe that wouldn't stop who ever ran the lab. Lance just evasively said it was restricted grounds.

-o-

Ash sat next to Psyduck. Both of them had be instructed to sit in the two chairs. The room looked like a lecture hall but all the chairs were cleared out of the room with the exception of the chairs for them. The lights were turned off with only a few lights to illuminate where they worked.

'I want to keep the lights dim for the ghost pokemon Ash. While it is a surprise, we are fortunate that you have a ghost pokemon now. He can help us with the processes and it may help bond the two of you.'

Agatha and Will each released a pokemon. Agatha released a Gengar. It was smaller than Ash's and his body was more purple than black conpared to Ash's Gengar. Ash looked over to Will's pokemon and saw it was a Alakazam. It turned its gaze to Ash before looking to Will.

'Ash, what we are going to do is slowly and carefully draw out the psychic energy. The statue you brought out of the grave yard is an effigy that hundreds of people prayed to for their departed family and friends. It was placed there when an archaeology expeditation found it in the ruins of an old temple in Kanto. Ghost pokemon were drawn to it, so they could not put it in a museum like they had planned.' Will said while directing Alakazam to move behind Ash. Agatha's Gengar moved behind Psyduck.

Agatha looked at the small stone statue before ordering, 'Take out your Gengar Ash. He will need to see how this is done if he is to help you.'

Ash released his pokemon. 'Gengar I want you to watch what they do carefully. They may ask you to do this later. Alright?' Gengar nodded happily and jumped back to see everything.

Agatha lifted the statue and placed it on the ground in front of Ash and Psyduck. 'This effigy was placed in the mausoleum over sixty years ago. It has naturally collected the energy of ghost pokemon for as long as it has been made. Haunter, Dream Eater.'

Agatha's Haunter floated to the effigy and started sucking in gasping breaths at the effigy.

'Alakazam, Give a gentle push at the psychic presence in Ash.'

'You too Gengar. Just a small nudge. We just want to get a small movement on it.'

Gengar and Alakazam pressed their hands on Ash and Psyduck's back.

Ash felt it and his vision shook. It was like the sucking motion from Mewtwo all over again. But it was painful. Ash grunted and Psyduck shut his eyes and grabbed his head.

'Hang in there Ash, Psyduck. You have to stay conscious. Haunter is trying to target the dormant power that sits within you.' Agatha said pensively. Ash wrapped his arms around himself before he looked at Psyduck. Psyduck was rocking back and forth with his eyes squeezed shut. Ash reached out for is teammate and gently gave Psyduck a shoulder squeeze in support.

'That's enough Agatha. I feel the the energy is being disrupted but nothing is moving. We should let them rest.' Will gauged.

Agatha looked at the lack of energy being absorbed by Haunter. 'I agree. That's enough you two.'

Agatha and Will recalled their pokemon. Ash slumped in his chair before he tiredly looked to Psyduck. The duck pokemon was soundly asleep. Ash gave a very psyduck-like sigh.

-o-

The Indigo Plateau was a solid stone rise that looked over the country side. Ash had only seen one good view of the country below him before he was placed in an open field that looked like it was used for arena matches. The stone walls rose high and the empty seats surrounded him. The sun was bright but it did not deter the cold weather he was unprepared for after being on the tropical islands for so long.

Ash watched Psyduck gave a frustrated huff. In reality Ash was fighting hard to not feel the same. It was all gone. The comfort and support of his pokemon had always sat in the back of his mind was just not there. Psyduck has been a major contributor to the moral of the team. Psyduck could still connect to the rest of the team fine. Snorlax responded to Ash's commands easily when he whispered them to Psyduck when they had tested that thoery. Ash took that as a small victory for Psyduck.

'Ash stop your psyduck from sending messages. It is not going to help either of you. There are so many ghost pokemon here that his powers will be weak for the duration of your stay.'

Ash looked over to her then back to Psyduck. 'He does not seem to have any trouble keeping in contact with the team. It just seems to be me.'

Agatha huffed. 'That is Mewtwo's influence on him. That much psychic energy thrust into him will likely combat against the energy here but he should not strain him self with it. It will make him have phantom pains when it is gone. Your psyduck is finding ways to resonate with Mewtwo's influence and its not healthy. I am sure it is uncomfortable for him. But your psyduck will have to bear with it until we can pull the influence out of you both.'

Psyduck was listening and huffed in annoyance. He dropped down from his floating positon next to Ash and quacked.

Ash knelt next to his partner. He repressed a tear that threatened to come while looking at Psyducks distraught look. 'I know Psyduck. I know.' Ash pulled Psyduck into a hug. When he let his pokemon go he pointed to go play with Pidgeot. Psyduck waddled over to the bird and went to fall asleep under his wing. Psyduck still showed signs of fatigue nearly a week after encountering Mewtwo.

'How has the training with Gengar coming Ash?' Agatha asked. She looked over to Haunter who silently took the command to leave.

Ash looked over to Gengar who seemed content to play tag with Pikachu's shadow. 'He is a lot more playful than I would have thought. He is a welcome addition to the team. But aside from the quick chat with you. I know nothing about Ghost pokemon. I had him run his paces with me. But...' Ash frowned thinking about his rods. He had not used them with Gengar yet. 'I'll get back to you about that after my next training session with him. He seems to think training is playing more than Snorlax does.'

Agatha gave a tight lipped frown. 'It is odd to see a gengar so relaxed. They are predatory by nature. This gengar is likely very old. Given where we went I should not be surprised.'

Ash finally found the opening he had been waiting for. 'What was that place anyway? I never did find out what it was even called.'

Agatha closed her eyes really thinking about the question. 'That grave yard is the resting place for trainers and pokemon of the previous civilizations. Pokemon and humankind have been partners for as long the second civilization. But it was not always the case. For a long time before then, Pokemon and humans could not even communicate with each other. The kind of relationship we have with pokemon now would be unthinkable and damn near heresy.'

Ash listened to the story but looked over to Gengar. 'Do ghost pokemon age like everyone else?'

Agatha followed his gaze. It was Pikachu's turn to chase after Gengar and was angrily chattering at him when he went into the ground as a shadow.

'No they do not. They can still die. But instead of leaving a body, they turn into energy and move on. This is one thing you should always remember about ghost pokemon Ash. They were once something else entirely. They could have been a man or a woman. Or a pokemon who had fought and died a violent death or moved on from a peaceful sleep.'

'Your Gengar shows signs of great relief being among pokemon and trainers. It is just a guess, but that could mean that your Gengar remembers a time when such a thing was an impossibility.'

Ash watched his newest member for some time after that. He looked up to Agatha only to realize she was gone.

-o-

Agatha watched the pair as they slowly became more drowsy. Ash and Psyduck had laid down on a pair of comfortable recliners. Agatha had taken Ash and his pokemon into her office to continue the training. When it looked like there would be not volatile explosions or reactions to entering their mind, she saw no reason for them to be in a blast proof gym.

Agatha reigned in her temper until Ash and Psyduck finally fell asleep. The boys really took their sweet time with how strong that medicine was. Ash welcomed the chance to be unconscious during their next series of test. Psyduck was a bit more reluctant but Ash's Gengar convinced him they should try it.

'Gengar. We are not going to try and pull anything. We are just looking for the influence. Haunter show him how you see a mind.'

Haunter floated to Psyduck. Haunter tapped his finger to Psyduck's mind and gently raised it. Smoke floated out of Psyduck's forehead. It began to swirl and take a almost water like quality as it swirled in a white and blue mixture. Haunter sifted his hands through the pool. It would pick up a handful of the energy before letting it go back into the pool. It did this several times until it found something that seemed unnatural. Haunter called Gengar over and showed him how the water was a darker blue than the rest.

'It is not the source of the energy Gengar. That is where the damage was most affected by Mewtwo. We are looking for where the damage originated from. But with how this looks like.' Agatha walked closer to look over Haunter's shoulder.

'Gengar we should keep this to our selves for now. Go ahead and return it Haunter.' Haunter slowly moved the water back into the pool. The energy turned into smoke again as it entered Psyducks mind.

'Gengar you will try on your trainer. Remember we are not trying to move anything out of his mind yet. We are just looking for the damage and the source of the energy.'

Agatha turned back to Psyduck. She did not like what she saw in Psyduck. And it would explain quite a few things of why Psyduck could not communicate with his trainer no matter how strong the bond. 'Gengar remember to keep a watchful eye on a foreign mind. I am worried that Mewtwo left this connection to Ash's mind open.'

-o-

'Good job Gengar. Snorlax hold.' Ash walked up to Snorlax and patted the pokemon's side. 'Snorlax I want you to stop and think about this for a second. What wasn't working?'

Snorlax gave a grunt before he waved his arms and legs in an imitation of a kick and a punch. Ash smiled. 'That's right. They didn't work. That mean's we have to find ways to get him. Energy attacks can work. But we have more than just hyper beam. What else could work?'

Ash gave Snorlax a patient smile. Gengar hopped back and fourth giddily waiting for the match to continue. 'Lax.' Snorlax raised his hand and ice formed on his fist.

'Good job. Now come here I want to tell you something.' Ash shoo'ed Gengar to step back. Gengar watched excitedly. He laughed when Pikachu cheered for Gengar and Psyduck and Pidgeot cheered for Snorlax.

'Alright guys we are ready to start again! Ready Gengar?' Gengar gave a 'ha!' as a ready to continue.

'Continue!' Ash shouted.

Gengar immediately turned into a shadow and disappeared. Snorlax roared and jumped into the air before he punched the ground. The move kicked up rock and dust. Snorlax looked for disturbances in the dust. When he found Gengar he move to punch the Gengar. Gengar reacted by turning into shadow energy to let the punch pass through him. Snorlax twisted his fist right before he made contact. The fist was suddenly covered in ice energy and smashed hard into Gengar's stomach. Gengar flew across the gym and into Gym wall. Gengar laughed while shaking off the dust and rocks that fell off of him.

Gengar still found ice cling to his body but he looked up to Snorlax still smiling. 'Gengar he has good timing with that punch. Make it harder for him to find the real you.' Gengar's eyes glowed blue and the gym was enveloped in a black shadow.

Snorlax grunted at the new room he was in. He noticed that Ash and the rest of the team were in the room as well. So that ruled out him being asleep. He felt himself get hit right between the shoulder blades. Another slash of black energy hit his arms. Snorlax grunted before he exhaled to calm himself.

He gripped his hands to either side of him and collected energy that covered his hands with ice. He took several more hits before he slammed his arms together. The ice exploded in barrage of hail. The ice hit several shadows in the room before the blackness collapsed on itself.

Gengar sat in the middle of the field looking slightly woozy from the hit. 'Hold! Good job both of you.'

Ash walked to the pair. Snorlax was helping the little black shadow stand up. Gengar playfully grabbed ahold of Snorlax's arm and crawled up Snorlax's shoulder to sit down in a mock imitation of Pikachu's perch on Ash's shoulder. He gave a happy 'Gen!' even as his head shook slightly after that hit.

'You both alright?' the pair nodded. Ash looked at them with a grin of satisfaction. Ash patted Snorlax's stomach. 'Good job Snorlax. It looks like you almost learned blizzard . If you ever have to do that again. Instead of exploding the ice from in front of you.' Ash imitated what Snorlax did with moving his arms in front of him. 'Do this instead.' Ash raised his hands above him and did the same motion.

'We want to make sure that explosion hits everything not just what is in front of you.'

Snorlax opened his eyes and nodded before letting them rest in a half opened gaze at his trainer. 'Snorlax.'

Ash laughed. 'That's it for the morning guys. You feeling up to the treatment Gengar? Or do you want to rest? I can always go to Agatha if you are still feeling woozy.'

'Gengar!' Gengar replied while jumping off of Snorlax and doing a fine imitation of Psyduck pulling on his pant leg leading him to Ash's bedroom. Ash recalled Pidgeot and Snorlax. Pikachu and Psyduck had already moved to head to Ash's room.

-o-

Agatha observed the group as they walked inside. Her office over looked the training grounds and the entrance. She silently wished the other occupant would leave. He was digging up answers the Elite Four wanted to keep buried.

'I will remind you a final time Riko, we have cooperated with Home Security for as much as we can and still keep our autonomy. The investigation was a first response emergency. We had several members of the Pokemon League near by for an event. Lance and Bruno were both present in Cinnabar. I don't even know why you are including me in this investigation. I was a responder well after the incident had passed. I did not even set foot on the island.'

Riko gave the older woman an aggravated growl. 'Agatha. You should have been first on the site. But you left it to a mere Gym Leader. I am more worried about your lack of concern in the incident.'

Agatha gave the man a very hard look. 'Riko. I have entertained your snide remarks for this meeting. But never,' Agatha's voice gave a dangerous growl. 'Ever, suggest I was derelict in my duty. William, who need I remind you is my future replacement, was on site first. The response was within fifteen minutes of the incident. And I would call that reckless for going in so early. You are not a psychic. And you are not even qualified to assess that kind of danger. We of the Elite Four are.'

Agatha stood her full height. Her presence was dangerous. Riko suddenly remembered who he had been talking to. 'Forgive me for being tackless Agatha. But even you have to find it suspicious when two of the Elite Four just happen to be near by New Island when Mewtwo escaped.'

'Did you read why they were there?' Agatha sighed.

Riko sniffed. 'Just for some gym battle. And some sort of employee rally.' Agatha couldn't even hide the laugh that escaped her mouth. Employee rally indeed. This man had no clue how the league worked.

'Riko let me put this in perspective for you. The men and women on Cinnabar are going to be the future leaders, possibly the future Elite Four. A few may even try to become the Champion for all that spot has done vacant for decades. And they were there to get some motivation. The past few years we have seen a slow down of growth all over the league.'

Riko shook his head. 'I hardly see how a trainer gym battle would motivate them.' He said suspiciously.

'Why did they even hire you? Your office should already know how we work. Or do you not know what a ten badge battle means?'

That paused the man. He gave her a cautious look. He set his binder down. 'I only know that it is a training exercise for preparation for the Indigo Plateau.'

Agatha shook her head and walked away from the window. Ash had long gone inside and she felt like sitting down after this idiotic conversation. 'The gym battle was for a new comer. Lance wanted to test him to see if he would qualify this year for the Indigo Plateau.'

'That's insane. No new-comer should ever be considered for any position he would be offered just by participating in the tournament. Besides the fact that he must still be a child, we are only half a year into the season. How could anyone raise pokemon strong enough to fight in a ten badge battle?'

Agatha laughed again. 'Arceus help me. Riko. Go do your research. Pokemon grow incredibly fast. Most reach maturity with in months of being born. Any pokemon can become strong with the right training and the right mind set. We have _shown_ your precious researchers how it can be done. But instead of learning and training pokemon, you all go off and try to clone some long dead rat.' Agatha's eyes shown darkly in the afternoon light. Her gaze penetrated Riko.

'Kanto officials should be required to have league service before they should be considered for your position. Same for the researchers for that matter. Even that idiot Oak would know better than try to clone a stronger version of some kind of unknown pokemon. Pokemon are strong enough. There is _never_ a reason to try and make stronger ones.'

Riko sweated slightly under the gaze before looking away. It was almost enough to deter him from his line of questioning. He opened the folder and went back to the last notes. 'Agatha. I know you feel strongly on the subject of the Lazarus Project. What of the trainer at Cinnabar? Who was he?'

Agatha allowed her self to smile. She told him exactly what he wanted to know about how Ash dominated Blaine. She grinned ear to ear how she described how Ash mentally cornered a charizard with a pikachu.

-o-

Ash looked at the room he had lived and will live in for the duration of his stay. It was bare with just a mattress and a desk to write on. Will brought in a TV with a pair of rabbit ear antennae when Ash was first assigned the room. Ash laughed and thanked him before the young man left.

Ash layed down on his bed and sighed. He had just taken his sleeping medicine and was preparing to fall asleep to start his treatment. Pikachu had curled up on mattress beside him. Ash covered his eyes with his arm and tried to relax. There was a grunted quack to his left.

'Psyduck that's enough.' Psyduck huffed in annoyance.

'I know. It bothers me too. Get some rest. You had earned it remember?' Ash grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Ash saw Pikachu chitter at Psyduck. Ash smiled as Pikachu pulled Psyduck next to him until they settled in front of the television. Psyduck did not seem to be much into their favorite past time.

Ash closed his eyes again and fell asleep. Their morning was exhausting and their afternoon was not shaping up to be any better. Beside him his shadow pooled onto the bed and formed into Gengar. The pokemon called over to Psyduck. The TV abruptly had sound again. Psyduck stood up and walked over to Ash and laid down next to him.

It was time to try and find the trace of psychic energy. Psyduck knew it was important. But he did not understand what the Ghost pokemon was actually doing. So he stood and watched.

Gengar eyes glowed on Ash's sleeping form and placed his hand on Ash's forehead to start the treatment.

Ash slept soundly while Gengar waved his arms. His eyes glowed red and energy began to swim above Ash's head. The swirl of energy was deep blue and portions would slowly turn white before returning to their shade of blue.

The progress was slow, but over the past few days Ash's Gengar and Agatha had found out where was the source of the energy rested. Agatha confirmed it was a link to Mewtwo which was never severed. They had not shared it with Ash in fear that Ash may try to talk to Mewtwo. Agatha knew she had nothing to be afraid from either Ash or the Mewtwo. She was concerned with the interest Kanto Home Security had in Ash.

-o-

Agatha felt it was time for Ash to go. It had been over two weeks since the incident at New Island. Kanto's internal investigation team demanded that they interview Ash. The team wanted to see the skill for the teen for them selves. They also wanted to know where Ash was when the incident happened. No one could account for the boy. Agatha bit her lip. She was curious where they thought Misty Waterflower was during the whole incident. If it was a clerical error that let them believe there was no hint Misty was involved, then they could have it.

Agatha had to pull major strings to just get the boy off their radar for as long as she did. But the investigation team was thorough. Agatha stone walled enough where the investigation team had to request permission from the Kanto government to receive the order to speak to Ash directly. Agatha could not hide that the boy was with her. It was officially placed on record that he was there for training his ghost pokemon Gengar.

Agatha sat with him for the interview. With her hovering over the questioning officials, they kept the questions to Cinnabar Island. Ash had admitted he had traveled some distance to pick up Gengar. Agatha could do nothing to warn the boy about not mentioning his involvement on New Island. But he seemed to have picked up on it. When Ash was asked where he was the day of the incident, Ash was quick to point out that was his first day at the Plateau. Agatha glared at the two agents that said nothing but kept staring at Ash during the interview.

They were Psychics.

The only saving grace was according to Will, Ash was still a black hole to Psychics. The two eventually had to give up and looked away as they rubbed their heads. When they finally relented, Agatha took that as her cue to dismiss the group. They had promised to they would come back to ask more questions later.

It was time for Ash to go.

'I am sorry I could not do any more for you Ash.' Agatha said regretfully. 'The meditation was our last hope of ever removing the energy that is still inside of you. Just remember that even though it is deeply rooted into your mind. It will not influence you. But it is making you effectively def to your Psyduck.'

Ash felt it was an apt description. Tried as he might, he was unable to reach Psyduck at all. Psyduck tried to hide that it hurt him. But Ash knew Psyduck to well. They both shared tears over it enough through the week.

Ash looked tired. His eyes had developed black rings from the lack of restful sleep over the two weeks. Ash did his best, but Agatha saw there was more than one thing that was bothering the boy.

'Here Ash.' Agatha irrerently threw something at the boy.

Ash caught it and unwrapped the cloth. Ash smiled at it. 'There are coordinates in there too. Make sure you put that back when you are done with it. Who knows, maybe you will find another way to get your self fixed up.'

'Thank you for all your help Agatha. I know you did your best. Psyduck and I have already started figuring out how to work without our link. I did not realize how much I relied on it for so many things. With it gone, I am going to have to look how I coach everyone not just Psyduck. Isn't that right partner?'

Psyduck quacked and nodded.

'I may not be available for a talk. But you are more than welcome to leave me a message for me or for Will.'

Ash smiled. 'Thank you. Sabrina said she was willing to help too.' Ash paused thinking about the conversation and the sad looks the older teen gave him.

'Good luck Ash. Where ever you go.'

Ash smiled, 'Let's go guys!' Pikachu Psyduck and Gengar were recalled in a ray of red light before Ash jumped on Pidgeot's back. 'We're going south buddy. Right past Pewter.'

Pidgeot cawed before he flapped his wings in take off.

Agatha stood there for a time disappointed in the whole situation. It should have been her or Will who spoke to Mewtwo. How did the boy sense the energy where they could not? Ash's lost underdeveloped ability was regretful. Agatha held hope it could be recovered if they could remove the energy from Ash. Sabrina said she was not convinced they could remove it at all. She had argued with Agatha over the week many times that if they could what would it do to Ash?

Agatha felt Haunter approach her. 'Are they here?'

Haunter nodded. Agatha started walking inside. Next to a few members of the investigation team was Lance. He was not pleased with their presence either.

A/N: And chapter 11 is out. Holidays are taking more time that I had hoped. I'll see what I can do to push another chapter out before December! Thank you everyone for the reviews. I am also at a point where I need to update that summary for my story. I got one anonymous review asking for a better story summary. Given how this story is branching all over the place I am not sure how I can describe this story. Any suggestions?

*Quick morning after edit 11/23/15*

I am going to need a beta now that this story just continues to keep growing. If anyone is interested please PM me.


	12. Chapter 12: Moving On

Chapter 12

Ash felt a tug and weight settle on him as he walked. Not even looking back he asked, 'Gengar are you in my shadow again?'

'Gengar!' came the laugh behind him. Pikachu tried and failed not to laugh with Gengar. Ash looked over his shoulder and gave the pair a snort. Pikachu and Gengar managed to shove Gengar half way into his shadow. Gengar's stubby arms waved happily even as the sun began to make his body fade into up right shade rather than a solid body. It looked like Gengar was more than happy to get burnt playing in the sun.

'I guess if you want a ride I might as well make it fun!' Ash grinned as he started running. Gengar gave an alarmed cry before he laughed as he was dragged along the path down the hill. Ash jumped and Gengar could see the path ahead of them and cheered as they were approaching the base of the hill.

Just below them was Pallet Town. Ash had not planned to visit his home town. But it was so close by air. Ash landed just out of town when a few flying pokemon from Oak's Ranch started to try and play with them. Ash just wanted to get home and landed to avoid them.

Ash ran with Gengar waving happily behind him until he got into town. The spectacle caused a few raised looks. Ash didn't care. He was just happy he would see his mother soon. Ash spotted his house for the first time in months. Ash laughed as he ran excitedly around the back to the front. Ash lowered his arm and Gengar reached for his hand. Ash pulled him out of his shadow easily and threw the little guy into the shadow of the house. While Ghost pokemon could be out during day light, Agatha hammered into him that they should be in the shade when ever possible.

Mr. Mime looked up and started calling out to him just as excited. 'Hi Mr. Mime. Is mom home?'

Mr. Mime nodded and pushed Ash inside. The young boy laughed as he walked in. 'Mom I'm home!'

Delia Ketchum walked down stairs and gasped. 'Ash!' she ran the last few steps and embraced her son. 'Oh sweetie don't you look handsome!' She pulled back to look at him. 'You certainly gotten taller. And your hair! It's so long!'

Ash looked at her surprised. 'Really?' He had not even thought to look at himself in a mirror in a long while. The last time he thought of his hair at all was when Misty played with it a few weeks ago. He had not realized until then that it had reached his shoulders. Usually it was out of the way thanks to his hat.

Delia sighed in exasperation. The family walked into the kitchen. 'I knew you were up north for something but I did not know you planned to visit. The house is a mess!'

Ash looked around and the house was as clean as always. Ash spotted a single book out of place on the table. It was likely what she had read before she went up stairs. 'Mom it's me. And if I was home I would have been the reason for the mess.' Ash stopped at the kitchen doorway and looked at her.

After a moment Ash took a seat at the table and was joined by his mother after she placed a pot of water to boil on the stove. Ash would talk to her occasionally over conference calls. Being in person with his mother was different. Ash spent the rest of the afternoon talking to her. Ash found she still worked at the lunch cafe down the street. But she joined a book club shortly after he left. Ash shared with her where he went and what he did. The chat eventually moved to what he did on the Saint Anne.

She simply hugged him.

The conversation finally turned to something she wanted to Ask. 'Ash dear. Is something else going on?'

'What? Why do you ask?' He looked away from the window where he spotted Psyduck trying to play with Gengar. It was one sided since Gengar could enter shadows and Psyduck could not get a mental lock on the older pokemon.

'Well, I had a few calls from the Kanto Department of Home Security. They had asked about your time in Cinnabar Island.'

Ash thought about it. 'Oh! Yeah I had a big battle with the gym leader Blaine. We had an audience of a bunch of trainers. That is how I met Lance and Bruno of the Elite Four. I only met Agatha afterwards to help Gengar and Psyduck.'

Delia gave a sigh of relief. 'That's good to hear Ash. Well, I had been getting a few calls and visits for a few days but they suddenly stopped over a week ago.'

'That sounds about the time they realized I had been training under Agatha. They came and interviewed me about my gym battle.'

Ash felt very reluctant to tell anyone about Mewtwo. Agatha had said not to give any one a hint he had been the one to release Mewtwo. Ash agreed after she explained that the Kanto Government and the Pokemon League worked together for the peace of the country, but they were very different branches of the government. The Elite Four could not guarantee his immunity if he had come forward.

Apparently Misty got the same conversation from Sabrina. Misty had manage to get a hold of him when he was at the Indigo Plateau. It was a pleasant surprise to be the one receiving the calls.

Misty and Ash had compared notes only briefly before Ash had to go back to work. Ash tried not to think about the lack of progress when he worked with Agatha. He did not blame her and was thankful to her for a few things. He learned a lot about ghost pokemon and he even had a new partner in Gengar.

Finally Delia asked, 'Are you going to visit for long?' She looked at him bracing for any kind of answer.

Ash thought about the question before answer his mother. 'I will stay at least for the night. I think I would like to speak to Giovanni, the Viridian Gym Leader. I was going to save his gym for last. But I'm here. And his challenge is not going to change. And all of my pokemon are rested. I think it is time to get it over with.'

Ash had not given it much consideration until now, but he did not have to do Koga's gym first. It was just the nearest when he was on Cinnabar. He was here now and the flight was less than fifteen minutes to Viridian.

Delia grinned at her son. 'That's great Ash I'll make you something nice for dinner. It will take some time. Let me know if you need anything while I cook.'

Ash watched his mom for a few minutes while she started to get things together to cook. He closed his eyes when she hummed a song. Ash missed the days when he could run in from playing and listen to her sing. After a moment he knew he had to get his team together in preparation for his next gym.

'I'll be back in a bit Mom.'

Delia walked up to her son and kissed his head. 'Alright Ash. Love you! Go have fun.'

Ash felt a warmth sit in his chest. He had not realized how much he missed his mother. He got up and walked out the door to get his pokemon.

Ash stood outside watching his pokemon for a few moments. They had not picked up he was done talking to his mom. They had been pretty well behaved considering they were basically unsupervised. Maybe that was because they were at his mother's house.

'Come on up guys!' Ash called as he walked off the porch to the group. The team huddle around Ash. He took a knee himself. He looked at each of them and suppressed a sigh. It still felt off training with out any kind of link to Psyduck. But he had managed so far.

'I have decided we are going to switch things around. I learned a lot about how to pick and choose pokemon during the last fight. Some of the key things I did not like were simple things we have never had to worry about before. Psyduck, you didn't like that ice barrier in Blaine's gym right?' Psyduck nodded. 'Snorlax you may not have won it with out making those kinds of obstacles.' Snorlax gave a grunt in agreement.

'Pidgeot you did not get to watch, but the way the field was left for the following team member made their fights harder. It is something I will be more careful about.' The team exchanged looks before nodding. 'The other thing I am going to be very careful with is who I chose to fight our opponents. Snorlax, Psyduck. You did not see Elafris. So you do not know. Pikachu's fight was a miss match. Plain and simple. I can't afford to make those mistakes with Giovanni's gym.'

Ash pulled out his pokedex. He scanned through the pokedex for a moment and pulled up a section of the pokedex he found months ago, but had never used it. Ash scrolled down to Viridian City. Ash sent a request for Giovanni's ten badge roster.

'I am requesting who our opponents will be. We'll need to study them if we want a chance. Pikachu, Misty told me we would fight many pokemon like Elafris if we are going to go to the Indigo Plateau. It's time for all of us to learn how to compete with stronger moves. We got too comfortable winning against Gym Leaders.'

Ash looked at them all. 'Lieutenant Surge said normal gym battles were to train us to fight against a type of pokemon. A ten badge battle was to demonstrate we can fight that type in the wild. I am sorry. I relaxed thinking we would be able to handle anything that was thrown at us.' Ash confessed to them. Ash would not say he was arrogant. But maybe he was that too. 'And we paid for it.' Ash looked over to Psyduck who gave him a mournful sigh.

'It's not just in gym battles either. We helped a pokemon who was dangerous even when he meant us no harm. Because we were not ready for what would happen Psyduck and I were hurt when maybe we did not have to be.' Ash reached out to pat Psyduck's head. 'I never did say sorry. I am sorry I asked all of that from you. It was not fair to you to try and even compete against Mewtwo's mind.'

'Psyduck?' Psyduck asked while tilting his head.

Ash felt the emptiness in his chest sting. Even if he could not hear what Psyduck said, he understood very clearly. 'It _was_ the right thing to do Psyduck. But that did not mean it was fair for me to ask that of you.'

-o-

Ash woke up too early the next morning. The sun had not even begun to poke over the hills. Ash went to the bathroom and looked at the clock. It was just after five in the morning. Ash used the bathroom and washed his hands. When he looked up in the mirror he could see what his mother was talking about. His hair was very long. But it was the shadow under his eyes that he really noticed. Ash knew he was getting enough sleep. But it has been a fitful rest for a while now. Agatha told him that she was unlikely to make any breakthroughs with him. Gengar would hopefully be able to help with time. But like Sabrina, Agatha told him that he would likely not feel any energy from his pokemon again.

Ash went back to bed and laid still. Psyduck never really talked to him. But the connection had been a constant companion to him since he trained Psyduck. And even before that, Ash had always been aware of Pikachu's energy. He had described it then as electrical energy. But now that he has worked with more pokemon, he knew it was something more. It was the energy all pokemon seemed to share. Being around his friends had made him all the more aware of it. And now it was like they were not even there.

None of it was their fault, but Ash still felt as if his own ability abandoned him. Ash placed his hand over his eyes. He tried to will the restlessness out of him to go back to sleep. The image of Mewtwo in his tube sitting there and gathering dangerous amounts of energy came to him. Ash coughed to clear his throat and snuggled into his pillow. It was still worth it. He decided sleepily. If he had to sacrifice some comfort to make sure no one got hurt. He could live with it. He did not know about his ability before becoming a trainer. And he only used it for less than a year. He could get used to no longer having it now.

Ash exhaled the remaining stress and fatigue out of himself and went back to sleep.

-o-

Ash had not known how long he was staying at his mothers house. But she said he was welcome as long as he wanted. But she knew it would not be too long. Not when there was a gym season still going. Ash got the roster from Giovanni along with a personal message. Ash squirmed in his seat as he reread the message on his pokedex.

 _I am looking forward to my match with you Ash. Before the our gym battle I do have a request for you. It is some work that will pay well. But it is more of a favor. If you come into town within the week, you are welcome to stay at my gym and take the job or simply pass and we may have our gym battle._

Ash would periodically read the message. He did not like it. Not after his first encounter with the gym leader. The experiments that lead to creating Mewtwo were perfectly legal and since it was classified information, Ash never did get the confirmation that Giovanni had been any where near the facility. But the way that energy had converged on them when Giovanni had given him that business card still made him think Giovanni was dangerous. Ash never did ask Misty about it with how people were investigating the whole thing. Ash felt reluctant to even call Misty to just ask. Ash found that who ever was investigating the incident some how confirmed she was at the laboratory. How they found that out but not pinned him down was baffling to him.

'Ash!' Ash looked up startled. He recognized that voice.

'Gary?' Ash stood and looked around the ground before looking up to the sky.

There he was, flying on a Charizard. Ash swallowed the lump in his throat. Pikachu was already beside him. They both knew it was not Elafris. One glance was all they needed to tell this Charizard was younger and not nearly as big. This one was built for speed not power. Although Ash could never think of Elafris as ever being slow.

'Man it's been a while! How have you been?' Gary got of his pokemon before recalling him. Gary pocketed his pokeball under his deep blue shirt.

'It's been good! I ran into some trouble after my gym battle with Blaine but I think we got that patched up for now.'

Gary laughed. 'So long as you don't slow down. I looked up your rankings, ten-badge battles all around man. Are you going to battle one of the last two any time soon?'

Ash smiled and relaxed. 'Yeah, I think we are going to start with Giovanni first since we are so close. Then we are teleporting to Koga's gym for the last badge. After Blaine's' gym battle I had to learn basics Misty said I never needed to learn. That's really what I have been doing since the gym battle.'

Gary laughed. 'I got my ten gym battles out of the way my self. My team is coming together pretty nicely.'

Gary pulled out three pokeballs from his belt. 'Come on out!' A Blastoise, an Evee and a Ivysaur appeared on the ground. 'Go play guys!' Both Ash's and Gary's pokemon cheered. Ash noted that Gary only carried three and looked at him with some curiosity.

When Gary looked over to Ash he laughed embarrassingly. 'I actually took up that idea from last time. I am only carrying three with me just in case I do capture a pokemon I want to train right away.'

Gary and Ash laughed at that. Ash smiled at their pokemon. They had started to pick up some kind of game. Ash looked over to Psyduck who looked back. Ash recognized the look. Psyduck was again trying to reach out to him. Ash closed his eyes. This has been wearing on him more often now that they were not being distracted with Agatha's treatment. 'Gary?'

'Whats up Ash?'

'Can we talk? Trainer to trainer?'

Gary looked at him curiously. 'About what?'

Ash had so many things he wish he could share. If only to get it off his chest. 'I-' Ash stuttered before he decided started from the beginning. 'I have felt different ever since I had been drafted...'

Ash sat on the porch with Gary. The pair had not kept in touch since Ash's message to him right after he finished Vermillion. But even then Gary did not know anything about being drafted. Ash started talking about the time he took to train Pikachu. His complete reluctance to capture pokemon.

Gary listened patiently. He wanted to ask. To react to everything Ash said, but he realized Ash had needed this. Gary had needed this months ago and his grandpa helped him when he trained Nidoking.

Gary started to see the pattern Ash was talking about. Ash was quick to react with out looking. It endangered his pokemon more than he realized. His pokemon valiantly followed him, but Gary saw Ash was just tired. The trainer's journey had been more harsh on Ash than it had been on him.

'Gary. I haven't felt the link since. It's like I don't even know my pokemon anymore.' Ash looked over to Psyduck. The pokemon did not even turn around.

Gary looked over to Psyduck. Psyduck immediately turned to him. 'Duck?'

Gary raised an eyebrow surprised. 'I only met Psyduck once. How did he know I was looking at him?'

Ash laughed. 'Psyduck has his mind spread out again. He has a very good view of the world around him. But he can't see me. It is worse than what Agatha said. Sabrina and Will, that is the guy who is training to be an Elite Four member, both said I am like a black void. Neither of them can see me. It's probably worse with Psyduck. To him, it's like I am suddenly not here anymore.'

Gary thought about it. 'Have you tried battling with Psyduck since?'

Ash shook his head. 'No, I haven't been on the road. We fly now. So I honestly have not really battled any road trainers since just after leaving Vermillion. We started teleporting short distances to Koga's Gym and skipped a lot. I was actually thinking of walking again. I am really broke.'

Gary smiled. 'Battle me Ash.'

Ash looked up to his friend. 'Nothing serious Ash. Just a practice battle. You and Psyduck need to work around this. And it should not be in an official battle.'

Ash rubbed his eyes with his hand. 'You are right. It would be stupid going like this. Psyduck!'

Ash ignored the look Gary gave him. Psyduck tilted his head before he turned around. 'We are going to have a practice battle. Come here.' To Gary, 'Who's my opponent?'

Garry whistled and Evee jumped away from the group of pokemon to go to his trainer. 'Evee here, she is getting ready to fight stronger pokemon for the opener's Conference. I think we are going to start putting our selves out there for some work after this year. And Evee here is looking to get some more experience with harder opponents.'

Ash patted Psyduck. 'Good to hear Gary. Let's take this further from my house.'

Gary admired Ash's Pidgeot for a moment. 'Let's take this to the Oak Ranch. We'll need room and I would like my other pokemon to watch the fight too.'

As smiled. He liked the idea of seeing more pokemon. And doubly so now that he knew that if he had any extra pokemon beyond six, they would be sent there as well. 'Alright let me tell my mother and we will head out. She was making dinner for us.'

Gary held any teasing but gave Ash a smirk.

-o-

Ash liked the Oak Ranch. He had only seen a brief glance of it when he walked Pikachu down the length of it on his first day with his partner. The ranch was larger than he remembered. He never did get a good look at it when he flew in from the Indigo Plateau. In the air Gary pointed how far it reached. Ash only thought it bordered Pallet Town. He had no idea it extended and only stopped when it reached the rolling hills to the north and west. It pretty much took up the entire space of the valley.

The pair landed and Ash let him call his pokemon together. Ash only ever saw so many pokemon gathered on the islands when Psyduck went to see his family. Gary had trained a large variety of pokemon. It made Ash self conscious thinking about how little he knew about pokemon in general.

'Ash, this is just a one on one sparing match, nothing fancy. I just want to see how well you and Psyduck work. I have four psychic pokemon my self. And while I trust them. None of us had the link relationship you and your Psyduck had. So if we can still battle fine, there is no reason you shouldn't either.'

Ash and Psyduck listened. Psyduck gave a look of surprise to Ash. He had no idea this was why they were battling.

'Psyduck I don't need to be linked to you to know this is bothering you too. It hurts both of us. So we need to find a way around it. Just like every problem, we'll work it out together.'

Psyduck quacked happily. Ash smiled at his partner. It had been a while since he got that response from Psyduck.

'We'll start it off Ash. Evee quick attack.' Ash was not surprised by the speed Evee jumped into.

Ash watch Gary's pokemon race to Psyduck. 'Psyduck teleport.' Psyduck disappeared as soon as Evee was on top of him.

'Evee thunder-wave the field.' Evee's fur sparked before a wave of electricity rolled across the ground. Ash smiled at the response.

'Psyduck hydro pump a trench.' Psyduck appeared near by Gary. The yellow duck pokemon inhaled and launched a pillar of water that tore into the ground.

'Evee run along side it, swift.' Evee dodged the splatter of mud that rained from freshly dug trench. Evee yipped as it shot several stars of energy at Psyduck.

Ash called, 'Light screen.' The shield appeared in front of Psyduck. The stars made a faint ping sound when they made contact. Psyduck's eyes glowed briefly before a beam of multicolored energy shot from his mouth towards Evee.

Gary's pokemon tried to dodge the attack but the mud made her footing unreliable. She struggled to jump out of the way and only barely made dodge the attack.

'Evee, get away from the trench.' Gary called already seeing Psyduck teleport in front of Evee.

'Water gun Evee into the trench.' Ash called.

Psyduck launched quick blast of water at Evee making Gary's pokemon slide in the mud into the trench. Evee yipped and tried to stand and get out of the dug hole but the mud made it impossible to escape. Ash looked to Gary.

Gary nodded in agreement. He recalled Evee. 'You are good at that Ash. I did not even see why you made the trench until it was too late.'

Ash smiled. It felt good to win a battle. And to do it without hurting the pokemon. He looked over to Psyduck. The fight seemed to agree with him as well. 'Good job Psyduck. It was definitely a fresh change of pace from the hard battling we did in Blaine's Gym isn't it?'

Psyduck quacked and sat down. He seemed more calm after the battle. Gary waited for Ash to finish talking to his pokemon. When Ash stood back up Gary scratched his head.

'Did the fight feel any different than if you were linked to Psyduck?' Ash thought about it and looked down to Psyduck. Both of them shrugged and Ash giggled when Psyduck pulled on his pants to quack at him.

'No it didn't. Psyduck knows how I think. He knows what I want him to do even if I don't tell him right away.'

Gary nodded. 'You barely spoke during it. That's something I have only seen in high ranking trainers.' Gary looked back to the field and frowned. 'That was a very passive response.'

Ash scratched his head.

'It was a practice battle. We get a choice to stop the fight with out actually having to knock the other pokemon out. After Cinnabar that feels important to me somehow.'

Gary gave an ah of understanding. A few seconds of thinking about it, Gary started laughing. 'Does Evee look that weak to you?'

Ash looked up abruptly as if he had been slapped. 'What? No! I just- I mean.' Ash started back pedaling.

'The Charizard fight still bugs you.'

Ash nodded. 'Yeah it does. I don't know why. It just does. It was nice to be able to fight a battle and choose not to hurt a pokemon. You know?'

'Ash tonight go call Blaine.'

Ash flinched.

'I am serious Ash. Go talk to him. Ask him how his Charizard is feeling, hell if that Charizard is around ask Blaine to see him. I don't want you to think knocking out a pokemon is a horrible result. You know its just part of battling. It feels bad for you because of just that fight. It did not bother you when you knocked out his other pokemon right?'

Ash paused thinking about Tinder and Sulfur. 'No it didn't. It was a even fight, either pokemon could have won. And my pokemon would have been knocked out.'

'Well there you go!' Gary said triumphantly.

Ash laughed Gary's victorious announcement. Ash looked towards the tree line as his smile faded. He was not focused on anything particular. 'Watching the gym fights in Vermillion bothered me.' Ash never did voice that particular emotion to anyone. Especially not to Misty. Even if she was his friend, she was a gym leader. It would be disrespectful to just say his thoughts on all he had seen. 'Everything about it all bothered me. How trainers and pokemon fought. The idea of choosing pokemon typing, forced evolutions, move specializations, even genetic manuipilation?'

Gary smiled. 'Manipulation. I read the article about bringing back fossil pokemon from the dead too. Grandpa was livid based on the ethical implications of bringing anything back from the dead.'

Ash kept his mouth shut but was thankful Gary filled in his own blanks at that last bit. 'I always wanted to have my pokemon be able to compete well against any opponent. But after Blaine's Charizard, I am not sure if I can keep doing that and win. I have been thinking about my next two gym battles. Misty said they would be my hardest ones. Giovanni has a reputation to have all of his gym battles be ten badge battles.'

'It is, Giovanni gave my my first official ten badge battle, and it took me a few tries to do it. I had to cycle my roster twice to find a good combination.' Gary added helpfully.

Ash gave him an annoyed look. Gary just smiled at him.

'And Koga is going to use the pokemon he was training to someday challenge the Elite Four. How am I supposed to compete with that and not make compromises? Ones that everyone seems perfectly happy to use.'

Gary sighed. If Ash was just a normal kid Gary would have called him an idiot. But this was something that was a principal for Ash. 'Ash people take those steps because they need every advantage to win.' Ash saw all of his pokemon were listening as well.

'Some how you managed to rise above that man. That is really cool.' Gary half laughed. Gary wanted to say it was down right amazing. 'Ash you take your advantages from a different place. I will be the first one to say it. Take _any_ advantages you can. Because you need to remember, we are just learning.' Gary looked to the rest of his pokemon and looked over to Ash's. He still had no words to describe how he felt about Ash.

'We have not even been trainers for a year. But we are learning to fight pokemon who have had _years_ of experience. How can we beat all of those pokemon with years of experience and all those gym leaders who by rights should be leading us? It feels like it is giving us mixed signals.' Gary waited until Ash nodded. Gary looked at his pokemon who began to play in the mud.

'Ash, I had to use every weakness in my opponent to even have a shot of winning. It is a ruthless way of looking at it some times. But if we don't, no trainer would have gotten past their first gym battle.'

Ash listened but still gave a sigh in frustration. Before he could say anything Gary interrupted him. 'That is with the exception of you. You found some way to win with no type advantage. I would never have dreamed of taking an electric pokemon to a rock gym, or a flying pokemon to an electric gym. But the first time you went to a gym, you decided to do it just that because you were curious.'

Ash smiled thinking back to that first gym battle against Brock. He really did just go into see how strong a gym leader was. Even back then he knew he was at a type disadvantage but he did not care. He wanted to experience a gym battle. And he had won.

'Ash, we are really different trainers. But I will say you are the better trainer.' Ash looked up to Gary. Ash looked over to the dozens of pokemon Gary had trained. Gary followed his gaze. He laughed. 'Ash. I trained so many pokemon because I needed that advantage remember? I love all of my pokemon. These guys are my team. But we all think we have limits that you don't seem to feel.'

Gary stood up and waved his pokemon off. 'I am dragging Ash to Professor Oak. If you guys are happy to play in the mud go to the river.'

Ash laughed but blinked away some mist that formed from his eyes. It was one thing to be told by someone he thought was gym leader he was a good trainer. It was another matter when Gary said it.

-0-

Ash stood in front of the Conference call. Pikachu sat on his lap. They were both nervous. Ash had not really spoken to Blaine since the banquet. The hurried exit with Agatha allowed for no such pleasantries.

The screen was blank for several minutes before the screen blipped open. Blaine looked back with out his glasses and wore some kind of lab jacket. He smiled at the young man.

'Good evening Ash.'

Ash gave an uneasy smile in return. 'Hello Blaine.'

-0-

The next morning was cold. The sun was just passing the valley edge when Ash had started saddling Pidgeot. He gave his pokemon his instructions before they all went into their balls and Ash was just ready to go back inside to call his mom when he heard her.

'You heading out Ash?' Ash smiled at his mom. Delia looked at her son. She placed her hands on her hips and sighed at the look of guilt he gave her.

'Yeah. I am sorry mom. I sorta decided it last night after talking to you about it. I should go see Giovanni now. I'll call you if I don't pass back through.'

Delia walked up and hugged Ash. 'Alright sweetie. You stay safe alright?'

'Thanks mom. I love you.' Ash felt his mom squeeze him tighter before letting him go.

'Go have fun Ash. And don't forget to call more often.'

Ash grinned before he buttoned up his jacket and got on Pidgeot's saddle. 'I'll call you soon!' Ash patted Pidgeot's side as he cooed a good bye to Delia. The pair took to the air in a whoosh of air.

Ash sighed as his mom's figure faded into a dot. Ash had flown north and just past the edge of the valley when Pidgeot cawed at him. Pidgeot slowed and Ash started to look around. Behind him he could see a flaming red dot in the air. Ash pulled his reigns. Pidgeot circled back.

Gary was on Charizard's back and waved at him. 'Ash!'

Ash smiled at his friend and the two moved to land on the ground. Ash did not move off his mount, but greeted Gary. 'Hey Gary. I am about to head out to Viridian. Did you want to come?'

Gary shook his head. 'Not able to. Grandpa wants my help with some kind of egg he picked up from another researcher. Maybe next time. I just wanted to know how the talk went last night.'

Ash smiled. His talk with Blaine was brief but it lifted a weight of Ash's chest. 'It went well. Elafris was fine too. Blaine said he was just annoyed he could not finish the fight quickly. Thanks for telling me to call them.'

Gary grinned before he pulled something out of his pocket. He tossed it to Ash. 'Put that in your pokedex.'

Ash caught it in midair. It was a small memory extender. Ash un-holstered his pokedex and inserted the chip. 'What does it do?'

Gary laughed at Ash's trust in him. 'It's a soft ware update and an second antenna. You can make calls from your Pokedex now.' Ash raised an eyebrow at that and smiled widely.

'Oh! That is awesome.' Ash looked at the scrolling bar on his pokedex screen. It was still installing the software but he put it away. 'Thanks Gary.'

Gary laughed. 'I got it too. So we can actually talk when ever we want. It's not supposed to come out until the next round of Pokedex models but that's still months away. We got the Pokemon League version. So long as you are not buried in a mountain cave, you should still be able to contact someone.'

Ash patted the pokdex in appreciation. Ash looked at his friend. 'Thanks Gary. You helped me a lot yesterday.'

Gary smiled. 'I just want to make sure you make it to the conference in time. No more dallying Ash, the more time you have prepared for the tournament the better your chances are we can finally have our battle.'

Ash laughed at that. Ash looked up at the early morning sky. It was just now turning blue. 'Sure thing. I'll see you around Gary.'

Gary patted his Charizard's neck. 'You damn right you will. See you later Ash!'

Gary took to the air and headed back towards Pallet. Ash signaled Pidgeot it was time to take off. Pidgeot kept the two in the air for a moment to really just look at Pallet Town and the valley.

Ash let out a relaxed laugh and smiled. He was glad he made it back. Ash turned towards Viridian. He had not felt this refreshed in a long time.

-o-

Ash stood in front of the gates to the Viridian Gym. After seeing so many other Gyms, this one stood out a lot more than it did the first time he walked by it. The gym looked more like some kind of personal estate than an actual pokemon gym. The gates cut the the courtyard off from the rest of the city. The gates themselves had the Pokemon League stylized L on side of the gate, and the other had a stylized G. Ash thought about it before it clicked that was for Giovani's name.

Ash opened the gates and walked down the path thinking about the pokemon list Giovanni sent him. There were quite a few pokemon, but there were no rules given to him. It left him curious about this whole day.

At the manor door, he knocked. The door responded with a buzz. 'How may I help you?' came a male voice.

Ash cleared his throat, 'My name is Ash Ketchum. I was asked to meet with Giovanni.'

Ash was still unsure what to make of the offer Giovanni gave him. He discussed it with both Gary and his mother and they both seemed to encourage that he should take it. Gary being the practical one pointed out Ash was the one that was saying he was broke.

Ash would give him that. He was running low on money. But he had to use less too since he was traveling so fast. Pokemon Centers were free, and just flying between them saved him a lot of money. Interstate travel was expensive since there were not many roads rebuilt for vehicle. And pokemon did most jobs better and faster anyway. The only exception was by sea and air travel for a mass of people going from one region to another.

Ash broke his thoughts at the sound of hard soled shoes echoing off the tile floor. Ash stood at attention as Giovanni himself walked up to meet him.

'Good morning Ash Ketchum. Please come with me, I have little time and would like to explain my predicament before you make a choice.' Giovanni gave the impression of a busy man and he strode purposefully down the hall into a personal office. Ash followed and was gestured to take a seat.

'I'll be brief with you Mr. Ketchum. I have two employees who will be holding my position for a few months. I plan to be absent for some time for an extended project. While the two I have in mind have the proper clout that no one would dare challenge them publically in my absence, they frankly do not have the skills to hold the gym afloat. I do not want to have my gym's reputation tarnished due to their own inability to hold a pokemon battle.'

Ash nodded and swallowed nervously. 'How do I fit into this Mr. Giovanni?'

Giovanni smiled. 'I would like you to give them some coaching. They are intelligent people when they stay focused. However it is apparent they do not accel in the more traditional trainers ideology. I thought maybe someone with your unorthodox training skill set may help them where my normal trainers could not. They will not need to train their pokemon. They will be using mine. But they will need help in battling. They are not experienced and it shows when I practice with them.'

Ash smiled slightly. He was half afraid he would be asked to go guard something. 'I would like to see them first before I give you my answer. If they do not have the right attitude anything I do will not do any good to help them.'

Giovanni gave the boy a tight smile. He stood then, 'Let us go see them. They are currently training. My tutors have long since been dismissed when it was apparent they were seeing no improvement.'

Ash frowned at that. All business indeed. Ash noticed it was the second time Giovanni looked at his watch when they entered a view stage. Below them was a gym field where two young adults in their early twenties fought against each other.

'Poison pokemon?'

Giovanni nodded. 'Those are their personal pokemon. They had been issued their pokemon when they were hired into my company. I had always preferred disabling enemies rather than out right defeating them.' Ash gave himself an appreciative smile at the sentiment.

'You said they had clout?' Ash was not sure what the word even meant. But better to ask why he used it.

Giovanni gave an aggravated grunt looking at the pair. He felt the two had not improved at all. 'Jessie is the young woman. Her family has worked under mine for years. Her mother died of an accident leaving the girl an orphan. I am ashamed to admit it, but I lost track of her shortly after her mother died. I hired Jessie as soon as I found her. Jessie her self has no knowledge that is the reason I hired her. It was more to make sure she is cared for. The young man in the white t-shirt is James. He is a run-a-way from a powerful family in Hoenn. James' private city is here in Kanto. The family owns quite a few businesses. When they found that the boy was under my employ they had decided to pressure me to make him go home. I refused.'

'Because they both have "clout" in the company they will not have their authority challenged while you are absent?' Ash repeated more to himself.

Giovanni nodded. 'Thank you for following along Ash. I was not sure if I was going too fast. I rarely interact with trainers as young as you.'

Ash grinned. 'Thank you for the compliment. You said I was going to get paid for this. How will that work?'

Giovanni smiled. He liked the mercenary response. 'I will pay you half now half before the gym battle. I would like to keep this off the record so I can not draft an official contract for you.'

Ash looked away from James and Jessie. He looked closely at Giovanni.

'That is for a few reasons. It would be a conflict of interest and is very frowned upon for a gym leader to pay a trainer that he is not hiring into a company. And I do not want competition that is known to happen in my company to get wind that I am favoring these two.'

Giovanni looked at Jessie and James and shook his head. 'While they are not as hard as most of my company agents I hire. I would like to think they would be a good face for the Viridian Works. If they could get their act together. They do not think like normal trainers do. I will be honest with you Ash since you had been honest enough with all of us gym leaders of your own thoughts about our duty.'

Ash flushed at the reminder.

'I am a businessman first. I always will be. I was one before I became a gym leader. But I take my duties as a gym leader very seriously. I will not allow these two hold my position in my absence if they do not qualify. But it would mean I would have to choose a less... savory option, but Cassidy would still be an option.'

Giovanni frowned at the idea.

Ash did not like the sound of Giovanni's hesitation.

Below them Ash could make out that James was trying to teach his pokemon how to use a poison move. But why he was waving his arms around in am imitation of a tree, Ash could not be exactly sure. Ash spent a few minutes to observe Jessie and James fall over each other when the new attack failed. The pair had tried to move away from the noxious clouds.

Ash smiled at the two. 'I'll do it. I'll take the first half now and only will take the second half if you feel I did an OK job.'

Giovanni nodded. 'I appreciate the integrity. You start now. My butler Tom will be at the main hall when you are ready to retire. Jessie and James can both guide you into town if you need anything. We will have our gym battle tomorrow.'

Giovanni snapped his fingers and Tom stood out from against the wall. He had a computer in his hands that looked similar to a pokedex. Ash heard the blip form his own. He pulled it out to view his bank account was loaded with the days work. 'Thank you Giovanni. I will see you tomorrow.'

Giovanni nodded before pivoting and strode purposefully away to where ever he needed to be. Ash thought about his first meeting with Giovanni. It seemed to be a completely different experience. But maybe that was because he was distracted from the energy he felt from the old man the first time.

Ash looked down at the pair who tried and failed to get their pokemon to perform the attack they wanted.

More to himself Ash muttered. 'I can think about Cinnabar later. These two really need some help.'

Ash walked to the edge of the view platform. It was roughly eight feet tall. Short by viewing gym standards. Ash hopped over the ledge and let himself hang from the edge before he dropped down. He landed with a light tap of his feet.

The boy watched to see if James or Jessie noticed that he was on the field. When the pair seemed to be more involved in their own conversation Ash walked up to them curious to see when they would notice him.

After walking right behind them, the meowth looked up and meowed at the pair.

'Meowth, did you just meow?' James looked at the cat surprised. The Meowth just pointed its paw at Ash.

Ash waited for James to squeak in surprise before the one Giovanni named Jesse turned around.

'Kid what are you doing here?'

Ash simply looked at them and waited. He looked over to their pokemon who were in the middle of trying and straining to build up energy for some kind of poison attack. Ash simply pointed at them in case they injured themselves listening to these two adults.

James caught on and called for them to stop. Jessie ran up to her Arbok and patted the back of his hood. 'Sorry about that Arbok!'

Ash sighed before he released Gengar. Gengar hopped on his toes excitedly. Ash simply looked to his newest pokemon, 'Test them.'

Gengar sprinted forward and threw a ball of shadow energy at the pair. Their pokemon immediately went to their defense and took the hits for them. Ash gave the pokemon a grim smile of approval. Gengar moved around them trying to get to the two humans. He glared with blue lit eyes at the pokemon. They staggered from the glare. It allowed Gengar to move around them towards their owners.

'Wheezing, snap out of it. Smoke screen!' The wheezing shook his head and emitted smoke from every pore from its body. It enshrouded the group. Gengar stood still to listen where the humans would move to.

'Arbok, poison sting!' The snake pokemon opened its maw and launched needle like projectiles into the smoke giving Jessie and James time to move away from center of the field.

'What do you think you are doing kid! Wheezing tackle the brat.'

Ash saw the move coming at him and briefly frowned at the command. But then again... It _was_ only fair they attack him when Gengar was attacking them more than their pokemon. Ash reached for the Wheezing as it moved. It was far slower than his own pokemon and easy to grab onto. He pulled the Wheezing and side stepped the pokemon before using his foot to push him further away.

Ash turned back to the Arbok who had not moved. It was unsure if it should attack or defend his trainer. Ash made the decision for them all. 'Gengar, hold.'

Gengar who had stayed in the smoke the entire time simply melded into a shadow and disappeared before reappearing by Ash's side.

'Giovanni said you two did not think like normal trainers. He didn't say you did not think like any kind of trainer.' Ash had only a few experiences himself but he would have thought trainers as a whole were a competitive lot. These two were more content with what they had. Maybe that was the problem? Ash walked closer to them and surveyed the gym space they were working with. It was large enough to really play like Snorlax liked to play. An idea for later.

'How comfortable are you two working for Giovanni?' Ash asked while looked around the gym and finally back to them.

Jessie and James had run to their pokemon and checked on them but glared at Ash when he asked that question. 'I would never leave T- Giovanni's side.' Jessie declared. James nodded equally repulsed at the statement.

Ash shook his head. 'You miss understand your situation. If you can not perform your duties it will be over for the both of you. Giovanni is a busy man and he does not have the time and fortune to protect you both for much longer. You need to learn how to do that on your own.'

James glared and gritted his teeth. 'Who are you?'

Ash started releasing all his pokemon. Snorlax yawned lazily before perking up and looking at the gym field. Pikachu cheered being out of his ball and ran up Snorlax shoulder while Gengar had immediately occupied the other. Psyduck rested right Ash's side. Pidgeot flew a circuit around the gym before he landed a distance away at the edge of the gym floor. They had all high expectations being called out at a gym floor.

'My name is Ash. I am a pokemon trainer who was hired to get you two into shape to run this gym. We have one day to get you thinking like gym battlers. I hope you are both ready to work hard. If you are not, you might as well leave Viridian Works now.'

James and Jessie exchanged surprised looks. Ash was curious at the shared glance they gave their meowth who seemed perfectly happy to allow his trainers to be placed in danger.

Ash looked at his pokemon. 'Psyduck take Arbok, Wheezing and that Meowth with you. They need to see a third eye of that fight.' Psyduck promptly levitated all three pokemon and took them off to a far corner.

Ash looked back to the pair of trainers. He was supposed to get them to fight like trainers for the good of the Viridian Gym. But neither seemed to have any real idea what that means. 'How long have you both worked for Giovanni?'

Jessie scowled. 'Long enough to appreciate what he did for me. Why do you ask?'

'You are about to be placed as the gym leader of the Viridian Gym. This gym is the rock of the Kanto Gyms. The final destination for every trainer who is preparing to fight in the new comers tournament. If you fight how I saw you fight just now, it will become a joke. And Giovanni will loose every thing he worked for in this gym.'

Ash watched the myriad of emotions pass through their faces. Ash waved them to follow him. 'Giovanni has placed his reputation on you. Please act like you deserve that trust.'

James and Jessie were moved at the thought and followed the boy. 'Did Giovanni just hire you?'

Ash nodded. 'Just for today. I was preparing to have a ten-badge battle with him. He asked for this favor before he leaves on his trip.' Ash sighed as he said it. All of the weary animosity the pair showed left them as soon as they heard of the difficulty of his planned gym battle. Really, was a ten-battle such a big thing?

Jessie looked over to their pokemon who sat still with their eyes closed. 'What is your psyduck doing with them?'

James looked over and saw them all sitting still. If they were not sitting upright, it would have looked like they were all asleep.

'Psyduck is showing them the fight. It was short, but it showed a lot about you both as trainers. You two were never trainers as children, am I right?' Ash set down his bag and pulled out the two training rods.

James and Jessie both nodded. 'I was originally training to be a nurse but was too poor to go to actual school, James is well..'

James smiled, 'I just went with the flow. I never had a real goal in my life.'

Ash paused at that. He had no idea what he would be like if he had no goals. It must be liberating. 'Well my first job is to try and help you find a goal you want to accomplish while you defend the Viridian Gym.'

Ash rested the still functioning lighting rod in his hand. The leather cord that he wrapped around his wrist was secured around the pommel. Ash never did get to try out this idea for training on his own pokemon. He only started playing with the idea a few weeks after he observed a electabuzz.

'What are the rods for?'

Ash used the leather cord to swing the rod in a wide circle. The pommel began to glow and electricity began to build in the rod itself.

Pikachu perked up his ears. He nearly jumped of Snorlax shoulder to get a closer look. He coo'ed and watched fascinated. He didn't know the rod could do that on its own.

Ash let the rod slow to a single wide swing before he caught the handle. He clanked both rods together and electricity sparked between them.

'They are used for training my pokemon. I am going to show you how I make my pokemon move. While I do, I want you to think about how you want your pokemon to move. If you can direct Giovanni's pokemon to move how you want them to, you will have more time to find an advantage in a fight. Trainers are going to fight you and you will always be at a disadvantage. Your job will be to try and over come those disadvantages and show you are able to fight as a gym leader.'

Ash walked to the center of the room. 'Psyduck! You done?'

'Psy!' he called as the group were lifted up into the air and flown to the edge of gym floor.

'Front and center. We are showing them how we train.'

Ash's team moved them selves to the edge of the gym floor. Psyduck looked at the trainers for a moment before he sighed. He moved one feathered wing. Jesse and James were raised and moved gently to the edge of the ring. As an after thought Ash's backpack flew and nearly pelted James to ge tit off the field.

Ash smiled, 'Sorry about that Psyduck does not like it when someone doesn't listen to him.' Ash gave his psyduck a pointed look. The pokemon fluffed his feathers indignantly.

'Jesse you have a background in medicine right?'

Jesse looked at him surprised but nodded.

'I want you to start putting that to use. Look at how my pokemon move. You know already what parts of the body that are most commonly injured. Think of ways to exploit them.' Ash turned over to James. He repressed the urge to frown. But it seemed James caught on that he had no real advice for the older man.

'James have you ever worked with pokemon before you worked in Viridian Works?'

James paused at the question before he flushed. 'I had a small growlithe I grew up with. I had left him behind. But I never trained him. He was more of a pet than a partner.'

Ash nodded. He idly swung the rod around in the air again to build up electricity. 'What did you do with him?' Ash wondered aloud. He closed his eyes and wanted to think about James answer.

James laughed at himself. 'We liked to wrestle. I was spoiled and we would destroy things if we were wrestling in the house.'

Ash opened his eyes. 'James I want you to look how I force Psyduck to move. I'll talk to you about it when we are done. You ready Psyduck?'

'Psy!' Psyduck quacked eagerly.

Ash wasted not time and ran forward electricity sparked from the intact training rod. He clanked it against the left rod and the electricity sprang to life in it. Psyduck hopped to his left and opened his mouth to launch a water gun just as Ash committed to the attack. Ash laughed and wanted to cheer at the move but simply used his right hand to push Psyduck and use his pokemon as leverage to get himself out of the way of the attack. Psyduck grunted as electricity coursed through his body. Ash pulled back the rod and regained his footing.

Psyduck used the opportunity to use his psychic powers to knock Ash away. Ash caught himself and threw the rod with the missing elemental stone at Psyduck. Psyduck had to break the attack to dodge. Ash caught him self in a deep crouch before he ran after Psyduck again. Psyduck moved around the gym to give him self some space before he fired a bubble beam that blanketed the gym floor to slow Ash.

Ash gripped leather cord and spun the rod to build electricity again. He ran into the bubbles. The mass of tension in the bubbles refused to break and held him for a moment before they were all broken by the electricity emitted from his rod. Ash never let his gaze fall from Psyduck and was not surprised that Psyduck teleported into the air to fire a hydropump at him.

Ash changed the grip on his rod launched it like a javelin just before Psyduck released the hydropump. Psyduck had a single second to fire and hold the hydropump before he had to teleport again to avoid the strike by the rod that arced towards him.

Ash ran and let the water that exploded behind him push him along the ground. The floor was quickly getting soaked and muddy. Ash laughed again now that he was effectively disarmed. He spotted Psyduck had levitated himself over the mud. Psyduck had that look on his face as he he prepared to fire another hydropump. Ash refused to call a "hold" and ran and skidded through the mud. He dove under the hydropump and slid on his stomach.

Ash spread his arms wide and grabbed globs of mud with both hands. Ash did his best to spin around while sliding before he could roll to a stand and throw the balls of mud at Psyduck's face.

Psyduck squawked as mud hit his face with a loud wet smack. He flailed wildly before Ash tackled him in a hug. After a second they both started laughing. Ash rolled with Psyduck before he lifted the little duck pokemon. 'You almost had me Psyduck! That was awesome buddy!'

Psyduck excitedly quacked back. The pair barely remembered they had others observe the fight. A very muddy Ash and Psyduck stood up. James and Jessie both just tilted their heads in an attempt to digest what they just saw.

Ash coughed to refocus. 'Psyduck can you take us to them?' Ash looked around the muddied gym floor. Psyduck quacked and the pair appeared outside the ring. 'We'll that was fun. Ok guys let's talk about that fight.'

-o-

Giovanni crossed his arms behind his back. 'You are confident that the boy was involved with the New Island incident?' Giovanni watched the video screen. Ash was getting up and wiping mud off himself before looked to Jesse and James. The boy playfully threw mud that was still on his sleeves at his Pidgeot.

'We have confirmed Waterflower was present. It would stand to reason that the boy was there as well. One person was observed with Waterflower at South Shore just before the incident. Although it was registered as Misty and guest. She had no pokemon and one Pidgeot was registered as resting at the center.'

Giovanni sighed. He stood up from his desk and leaned on it. 'The Psyduck has not exhibited strong psychic powers that would be needed to compete against Mewtwo which your officials have determined would be needed to wake the pokemon. And even now during this last observation it used more water moves than psychic moves. Ash himself has never shown himself to be a psychic. Something your psychics have been pointing out as well.'

Giovanni sat back down exasperated with Amedeo. 'I say we move on. We have lost enough resources on the project. Mewtwo was a product of an accident. We should never have had spent the resources for it. With the League's involvement my hands are tied. You wanted your military contract. You had it, but my job ended at consultant. I will continue the genetic research as per Viridian' Work's contract. Our agreement never extended to Mewtwo.' Giovanni casually reminded the man.

The well dressed man glared at Giovanni. 'That was half a billion we lost on that island Giovanni. The Minister was not pleased that we lost our test subject, and the Pokemon League now know about the research. You were hired as a consultant for the pokemon fossil recovery for our samples. Reviving lost pokemon was under that agreement. If you want your Team Rocket to gain a legitimate presence in Kanto, then you will complete the contract. The test subject is a sample just like the fossils you obtained. Your responsibility extended to the protection of your samples. That included the test subject. Find Mewtwo.'

Giovanni patiently waited for the man to stand and leave. The meeting was long over, but Amedeo always enjoyed a parting shot. Giovanni knew it was a risk to sign the contract as it was, but he thought the risks were fair enough. With this new discovery for cloning Mew, it seemed that everything has gone down hill. He now had to waste precious man power and money to find a lead at best.

'I need a way out of this contract.' The room remained silent to that declaration.

Giovanni watched the screen again. Ash was patiently talking to James about what he saw in the fight. Giovanni had no illusions about Ash Ketchum. The boy would not join him regardless of what he offered. But he would take as many insights into the boys mind as he could. If he can find an opportunity he will use it. If the boy was the link to Mewtwo he would have to be watched.

A/N: And another out! Thanks for all the reviews guys! This chapter and the next one took a lot of work. At least they are both relatively long. But I'm happy I took the time with this one.

Happy Holidays everyone. I'll try to see if I can get the next one out before the end of the year, but its the holiday season and I am in retail. Yeah. It sucks.


	13. Chapter 13: Giovanni

Chapter 13

Ash scratched his head while he watched Jesse and James. The pair were a weird mix of inspired ideas and ridiculous methods. He supposed that was why Giovanni asked for him. The pair had been working with their pokemon just practicing simple movement orders. With Giovanni being an earth gym, Ash thought it was a good idea for them to fight against water and ice moves. He did not have many ideas on what to do for grass moves. Something he apologized to the couple.

'Snorlax Water gun the target.' Ash found he had to be very specific to his pokemon for this training. Ash wanted James and Jessie to see every possible attack he could think of and still be able to counter it with out pause. In many ways, it was like training his own pokemon on how he wanted them to move. But with the extra step of Jesse and James understanding why.

Wheezing dodged the attack, 'Keep it up Wheezing! You won't be fighting in any gym battles, but we should both get used to this.'

Ash smiled at the sentiment. It was one of the few pleasant surprises the pair had shown him. Giovanni described the company as very cut throat group. Maybe that was why he had so much invested in them? They were so different from others the gym leader had described.

'Snorlax hold, take the hit and two second count ice punch.'

'Wheezing smoke screen.' Wheezing exhaled a cloud from every pore. The gym floor filled quickly with the smoke. Snorlax released the energy from his fists. It would be a bad idea to run head long into that smoke.

'Stay on the defensive Snorlax, let's see this play out.' Over the gym field, 'You got us at a disadvantage James, what is your next move?'

Ash smiled as he heard the click and energy release. Abruptly seven blades flew out of the smoke. Snorlax intercepted them with his paws automatically started to use a focus punch to knock them out of the air. 'Hold.'

Ash frowned and shook his head at Snorlax. 'Snorlax this is for them. How can they battle efficiently if they can't see what happens with a successful attack.' Snorlax grunted as Ash walked up to him. Ash laughed and patted the big guy on the arm. 'That's enough Snorlax, return.'

Ash walked of the field and grinned at the victreebel that looked back excitedly. It bouncy slightly ready to fight.

'That was a good job James. You made an opening and you gauged how tired Wheezing was.' Ash turned to the victreebel.

'Go Psyduck.'

Psyduck popped out of his poke ball and waddled onto the field. Ash had given all of his pokemon specific instructions. Ash was happy they had followed them for the most part. Snorlax was the only one so far to have broken the rule. No energy used unless ordered.

'Victreebell vinewhip. Grab ahold and pull him.'

Ash nodded at the command. It took a while for Ash to figure out what James could do, and then turn it into something that would work in a gym battle. Ash said nothing as the vines wrapped around Psyduck. The attack was faster than the one he observed early in the day. The pokemon were responding well to James. He held more confidence in his voice and the support made his pokemon trust him more.

Ash watched Psyduck fly over head before Ash ordered, 'Water gun the ground to slow down.' Psyduck opened his mouth and shot a volley of water to slow down his decent but did not feel him self slowing down. Ash noticed that Victreebel was pulling his partner in while trying to slam him into the ground. The swing increased the speed of Psyducks' decent. Ash whistled at the move. 'Good job.'

*snap*

Psyduck teleported away as the vines slammed into the ground. Psyduck squawked akwardly and fell on his rear. Ash laughed at the graceless landing. 'Sorry Psyduck. Just get used to it. No Amnesia until you can get used to fighting with out it.'

Psyduck sighed as he stood back up. 'Fury swipes. Don't let his vines get a hold of you.'

Ash watched James for a reaction. But his mind was on Psyduck. It only really occurred to him after Blaine's fight. But Ash and Psyduck were getting dangerously close to using amnesia as a crutch. The move was made to be used to temporarily boost the user's ability. Ash him self had Psyduck practice it at all times to help reel in his powers. But Psyduck has not needed to pull in his mind for a long time now. It's really been months since Psyduck had a headache due to loss of control.

Ash did not realize how ingrained it had become to use Amnesia at the start of a match until Psyduck was hit by Sulfur so hard it knocked him out of it. It was only through trained response that Psyduck was able to recover. Had Sulfur stayed conscious after his fall, Psyduck would have lost.

Amnesia was using too much energy. Psyduck did not need the move to keep focused on the fight anymore. So it was time to learn to do with out it.

'Razor leaf him to the edge!' James ordered while he looked a the field.

Ash couldn't help but grin at James understanding of spaces. It was a surprise at first, but James had a talent for moving both his and his opponent's pokemon where he wanted them to go. He just needed to learn how to say his commands.

-o-

The next day, Ash stretched and walk onto the balcony to sit with Giovanni and observe the challengers for the day. Ash was curious to see how well a days training would effect the pair. He was happy to see they were looking at things with a different perspective, but he was not sure if that would translate to results so quickly. Giovanni seemed to place a lot of faith in them. After a moment Ash realized the older man had placed a lot of faith in him as well.

Below them, James adjusted the cuff on his uniform. It was new and freshly pressed. This would be his debut as a gym leader. He felt nervous with Giovanni and Ash in one of the box offices watching the fight. He did not dare look to find them. Instead he thought back to something Ash pointed out to him.

 _'You are not an easy one to to help James. What were you hired into Viridian Works to do exactly?'_

 _James shoulders sank at the statement. 'Anything really. I was out of work and started as a basic security grunt. I did ok at it. I was willing to work. And I could follow the rules and not get drunk like others tended to do.'_

 _'What did you do before that?'_

 _James flushed slightly. 'I was part of a bicycle gang.'_

 _Ash looked at the man now. After a moment he started to laugh. James gave the boy an annoyed scowl. Ash just waved his hand before he could speak. 'But you grew out of it.'_

 _James nodded. 'I didn't like being a bully. It never felt right.'_

 _Ash kept his smile and looked at the field. 'Well, how about you just push your opponents around a little?'_

James smiled at his opponent and muttered to himself. 'Just a push.'

Louder, he started the formal rules for the match. 'This is a three on three Battle. Both sides are able to exchange at any point. Match ends when one side no longer has pokemon to battle. Any questions?' James stared at his opponent. He looked stiff in the gray and black uniform signifying him as an employee of Viridian Works.

'None, I am ready! Go Venusaur!'

A heavy thud shuddered the ground as a Venasuar roared its name. James smiled at it. It was ready to claim a victory. 'Rhydon, defend Viridian!'

A large bi-pedal gray pokemon landed heavily on the ground. Ash saw that he was matching the opponent bulk for bulk.

'Rhydon tackle.'

The teenage smirked, 'Venasaur use vine whip!'

James ordered, 'Grab them and pull him to your range!' Rhydon followed his orders and gave himself a look of surprise that he found him self within striking range of the larger pokemon. 'Mega punch him into the ground.'

Rhydon raised his arm and gave a chopping right down Venasaur's head. The Venasuar held its ground but shook his head slightly. It was dazed.

'Take down!' James ordered quickly. Rhydon gripped the Venasaur and tackled him again into the ground with a thud that cracked the ground. Rhydon let go and stood back up.

The teen gave a slight awed sound. 'Venasaur return.'

Ash smiled at James. 'That looked good. How is he? Any different from before?'

Giovanni watched and nodded slightly. 'There is a difference. It surprised Rhydon as well.'

Ash hmm'ed. 'I noticed that. Has that Rhydon worked with James before?'

Giovanni allowed a pained chuckle. 'Both James and Jessie had been assigned several of my personally trained pokemon to defend the gym. Rhydon has not won a single match with James. But it was not for a lack of trying. James just did not know what to do with him.'

Giovanni looked at Ash.

'I did not give him any special techniques. Really I did not change how they trained either of their pokemon.' Ash stood on his toes to try and get a slightly better angle at the fight below them. Slowly he added, 'I just showed them...' He sank back down and waited for James to give another order. 'I just showed them what I would do to move my pokemon. And how their own experiences would change it.' Ash looked down as another pokemon slammed against Rhydon. Ash's sighed as he pulled out his pokedex. The pokemon was a bipedal pokemon with two sets of arms.

It was able to flip Rhydon over his head and slam him into the ground. James recalled him and released another pokemon. Ash recognized this one. The Golem was a massive boulder pokemon with a pointed head and arms and legs sticking out of the boulder like body. 'Golem, Fissure.'

James pointed to the field. Golem followed the orders and slammed his arms and legs into the ground. The field cracked and parted splitting the gym into sections of raised earth. Golem moved around the field while closing in on the Machamp.

'Tike close in and karate chop. Don't let him do any big moves!' The teen looked nervously at the field. He lost sight of the golem several times. The disrupted earth blocked vision for both fighters.

James sighed moments later as the Machamp was able to corner Golem with a focus punch. James recalled his pokemon and released his final pokemon. The Dugtrio grouped themselves together while glaring at the opponent.

Above the field Ash smiled. 'Good job James, even if you don't win the battle, you got it now.'

Giovanni looked over to Ash and back to the field. After a moment it clicked. 'He changed the field to suit his last pokemon.' It was said more to himself rather than to Ash.

'Yeah. It will take some time for him to experiment with it all. But James is very good at controlling spaces. His pokemon lost for a number of reasons but none of them were from a poor defense.'

Giovanni nodded. The Dugtrio was able to defend against the Machamp for a short while, but eventually he too fell unconscious. The opponent was just too experienced fighting against ground pokemon and exploiting their inherent weakness.

'Is he better now?' Ash asked. He was anxious for Giovanni's answer. Ash was still not sure what Giovanni wanted from him training them. But apparently he did something right.

'You did a good job. Thank you Ash. This is what I was looking for. Not some grand power for them to defend our gym. But for them to represent the Viridian Gym. James will be able to properly represent the gym. What are your thoughts on Jessie?'

The field was leveled with the help of a few sandshrews who helped make it look presentable for the next challenger. Jessie walked up and looked to be done cheering and congratulating her friend.

'Jessie was actually the one I was most confident about. She knows a lot. I just had to find a way to make her think about it.'

-o-

Jessie stood in front of her first challenger of the day. She pulled out one pokeball she knew she worked well with before. She found her self reciting the rules for the match and she thought back to Ash's peptalk.

 _'You have a strong personality Jessie but I don't see that when you use your pokemon. Jessie you have a good idea how the human body works, right?'_

 _Jessie nodded. Ash smiled at her before he moved his wrist and he looked over to Snorlax who imitated him. 'The pokemon's body is not that different for most of the physical bits. What would happen to a injured ankle if you had to run on it.'_

 _Jessie felt her old schooling kick in, 'The tendons would get inflamed and could cause further damage by straining the muscles, it could change your balance and your body tries to automatically adjust for it.'_

 _'Would the same work for any pokemon who could get a similar injury?'_

 _Jessie paused. She nodded slowly. 'Jessie you have a wealth of knowledge to draw on, you just need to start learning how to translate that to pokemon battles.'_

Jessie stood in the defender's box and released a Nidoqueen. It roared confidently at the young teenager. The challenger was a girl in a black and blue pants and blouse. She grabbed her first pokemon. 'Go Vileplume!'

The Vileplume looked around. Its large red flower waved slightly with heavy amounts of pollen. Jessie eyed the flowering pokemon with a frown. 'Nidoqueen make it fast. Icebeam its flower.' Nidoqueen charged to get into range.

'Vileplume Stunspore!' The flowers petals on the Vileplume danced and released spores in to the air, creating a hazy cloud. Nidoqueen launched an ice beam that swept away the spores. Vileplume flinched. Her pedals were covered with ice and sagged heavily on her head.

'Megakick.' Nidoqueen did not slow down from her ice beam and immediately closed the distance and kicked hard and low to the ground. The kick caught the grass pokemon hard in the side. The Vileplume rolled for a moment before it laid still on the ground. The trainer recalled her Vileplume and pulled out another.

'I'm sorry Vileplume. You did good against a strong pokemon. Go Arcanine!'

Ash smiled as he clicked away his pokedex. He had been receiving a lot of entries ever since he came to the gym. He looked over to Giovanni. The older man allowed himself to have a moment, 'That was very well put together strategy for her. She had never been that observant.'

'She never really thought of what to look for. I simply pointed out what she already knew. We had her practice finding them in opponents.' Ash wanted to mention that neither of the pair seemed that well aware of their surroundings. Instead he added helpfully, 'She has had the medical training. She has not needed to use it for a while. I don't know if she did it last night, but I suggested she go back and review some medical articles about pokemon. She is out of practice to think like a healer. She needed to get back into that mind set to take advantage of what she learned.'

Ash grunted in disappointment when the Arcanine was too fast for Nidoqueen. Jessie released a Graveler who immediately dug his hands into the ground and threw a large mass of earth at the Arcanine. Several rock throws happened over the next few moments. Ash could feel the annoyance begin to swell in Giovanni.

'This was what I was worried about. That they would fall into old habits.'

Ash smiled. 'Just give it a moment.'

Giovanni did not say anything but Ash had to repress a laugh at the staunch posture the olderman was in. 'Just wait.' Ash said again. He was confident in Jessie.

On the gym floor Jessie ordered Graveler to throw another rock at Arcanine. The dog was too fast and was able to dodge with ease. But Jessie was satisfied that the other trainer was not getting any opportunities to attack. Finally Jessie saw the field made Arcanine run around enough obstacles. 'Graveler, dig.'

Graveler threw his arms forward and tunneled into the ground. The ground rumbled. The Arcanine was ordered to run around to avoid the attack and hopped over the boulders and tried to stay off the ground while keeping moving.

'Graveler now!' The Graveler appeared a fair distance away from the Arcanine and jumped into the air. 'Earth quake.' The graveler slammed the ground shaking the earth.

The arcanie had been balancing on one of the many boulders lost his footing and fell between several boulders that collapsed around it.

'Dig.'

'Arcanine, get out of there!'

The Arcanine tried to get up and sliped on another rock before taking off in a burst of speed. Graveler appeared right underneath the dog and slammed into the fire pokemon quickly knocking him into the air. The Arcanine agilely flipped and tried to land on a boulder a fair distance away.

'Earth quake.' Graveler waited and slammed his fists into the ground just as the Arcanine landed. This time there was a yelp of pain. Arcanine landed on the ground and had a noticeable limp to his gait.

'Finish this up Graveler.'

-o-

Ash nodded at her work. Five minutes passed where Jessie finally won her defense with Graveler. The Arcanine could not recover from its injured ankle and it slowed the pokemon down enough for Graveler to deal major damage.

'You have done well with them Ash. I am... Pleased that they will be able to represent Viridian in my stead.' Giovanni raised a tablet in his hand and started typing. After a moment, Ash's pokedex blipped at him. Ash smiled. He didn't bother looking at the transfer of money.

'It was fun Giovanni. I had not realized how much fun I had working with them until I saw them fight.'

Giovanni smiled. 'I could never be a coah Ash. Training pokemon and teaching people are too different for me. But then the other trainers I had ordered to coach them were very similar to my self.' Giovanni opened and took off his jacket. He moved it over his shoulder and looked down to Ash. 'Were you ready for your battle?'

Ash smiled. 'I have been waiting all day.'

'Come with me.' Ash followed the older man down to another gym field. Ash did not realize how many the mansion supported. It was easily five. Each time Ash was taken to a gym field, it was in a different room.

The room he was taken to was much different from the ones Jessie and James had trained and fought in. There was no throne like the one he first entered. The gym Jessie fought in had a podium to raise both trainers above the gym. James' field had the gym raised like a boxing ring, with a smaller stage for each trainer.

The gym Ash walked into was different from every other gym he had seen. It was an out door gym that was surrounded by the mansions walls. It was an inner courtyard that had many cracks and looks of repairs from many battles. It was twice the size of the other gym floors. There were no seats and no stand off trainer and gym leader box. Ash immediately noticed there were not even lines in the field.

Ash stopped when Giovanni stopped. 'I am going to enjoy this one Ash. This field only see's use when I fight my strongest employees.' Giovanni handed his jacket to his butler who trailed the two. He started rolling up his long sleeve shirt.

'This field has now bounds. We can both move freely around it. Most of my fights effect the ground. We can not afford to be pinned to one box. It would be suicide. I have injured and been injured enough times to give this rule.'

Ash's whistled at the idea of being knocked around from pokemon attacks in a match. While he had never placed much stock in personal safety for himself, he regularly placed himself in front of his pokemon to train, his respect for Giovanni went up a few notches knowing Giovanni is in the same place.

Giovanni looked at the young boy. Ash nodded as he took off his hat and put it in his bag. He set the bag down just inside the mansion entrance to the field. 'What are the terms of the gym battle?'

Giovanni walked over the field and started calling over his shoulder. 'We can freely swap pokemon once for the entire match. Once you swap out your pokemon you must have him on the field to fight until it is knocked out.'

Ash began thinking about the rules before nodded to himself slowly. 'Only one opportunity to try and correct an error or find a better result?'

Giovanni nodded. 'Be aware this rule applies to me as well. I will be able to swap out once during this match.'

Ash exhaled before nodding.

Giovanni laughed slightly at the response. 'This is a five on five gym battle. The winner is declared only when there is one pokemon standing.'

Ash moved his hand to his hip and touched two of his pokeballs. 'Ready when you are.'

'Go Ryhorn.' A large gray pokemon with heavy plated armor landed on the ground and roared. Ash started at it for a moment. He went over the pokemon Giovani was going to use for the match and nodded his head. His first reaction was to go with Gengar. He looked up at the sun. It was just afternoon. Either way, Gengar will have to fight in the sunlight. Ash held off on Gengar for now.

'Let's go Pidgeot.' Ash released Pidgeot into the air. Pidgeot flapped hard once to pick up speed before he did a circle around Ash. He hovered waiting for his orders.

Giovanni raised his hand. 'Ryhorn, thunderbolt.'

Ryhorn looked up to the bird pokemon with a hollow growl. Sparks of electricity came to light around his horn before it launched towards the Pokemon. Ash stepped back and Pidgeot took higher to the air. The lightning arced against the walls and Ash moved moved away from the walls as electricity snapped around the gym.

'Avoid it. Change the field.'

Pidgeot hesitated for a second. With Ash inside the field, the gym felt very small and enclosed. Pidgeot avoided the thunder bolt and complied at the look from his trainer. Ash had already raised his arms to protect his face. Pidgeot flapped his wings hard to create a whirl wind that touched down to the field. Wind picked up dust and Giovanni had a smile on his face as he moved his arms to protect himself. Pidgeot stayed flying in the eye of the whirl wind making it build up more energy.

'Toxic.' Ryhorn exhaled a cloud of gas that was sucked into the air current. Ash saw the cloud of gas and remembered what it did to James and Jessie the night before. He covered his mouth with his shirt.

'Pidgeot, make another one, funnel the gas out of the field.' Pidgeot flew out and around the massive air current and flapped his wings hard to make a counter wind to the first whirl wind. A second funnel of air touched down on the ground before the two combined. Ash felt himself loosing his footing. He crotched low and tried to dig himself into the dirt to try and give himself some traction. 'Finish this quick! Razor wind.'

'Ryhorn rock slide.' Ryhorn complied just as Ash finished his order. Pidgeot flew into the whirl wind ready to use the air current to charge the razor wind. Ryhorn took five quick steps to build momentum before he slammed his feet into the ground kicking up large chunks of rock into the air. The wind easily lifted the already flying debris into the sky and right towards Pidgeot.

'Cancel, reset!' Pidgeot stopped fighting the air and let himself be carried into the outer edges to clear the flying rocks. The Pidgeot's attack finally broke and the rocks landed heavily on the ground. Ash watched them as they fell to avoid them. Giovanni did the same.

Ash whistled low and long. 'Sky attack.' Ash called. Pidgeot disappeared into the sky. Giovanni watched the sky waiting.

'What do you have for me?' Giovanni murmured to himself. Ryhorn grounded his feet preparing for the attack. Pidgeot came down directly over the Ryhorn. 'Thunder it when in range then fire blast it.' Ryhorn simultaneously gathered the electricity in its horn and growled to gather fire energy. He patiently waited for the Pidgeot to get closer.

'Now!' Giovanni called.

'Mirror!' Ash called quickly. Pidgeot barely had enough time to shield himself from the electricity before it erupted back to Ryhorn. The fire blast and Thunder passed through each other to their targets. Ryhorn groaned at the attack. The fire blast impacted against Pidgeot uncontested. The bird screeched before he imploded in a cloud of dust. A second screech was the only other warning Ryhorn heard before his body was slammed into the ground. The earth crumbled under the impact of Pidgeot's sky attack.

Giovanni relaxed a moment as Pidgeot flew off away from Ryhorn. Giovanni calmly recalled his pokemon. 'That whistle was for a substitute.' Giovanni looked up at Ash who nodded.

'I have been working with Pidgeot on calls for a while now. I was not sure if that would actually work.'

Giovanni looked up to the second floor of the mansion and nodded at who ever he saw. Ash was used to an audience and was not surprised there would be people observing the fight.

'Go Rhydon.' Giovanni released his next pokemon. Ash scanned it and noticed the similarities between the last one and its evolved counterpart.

'Ready sir.' Ash called as he put away his pokedex.

'Rhydon Blizzard.' Rhydon roared while he raised his hands. Energy began to gather much the same way Snorlax gathered ice energy. But the balls flew up into the air and exploded in a dark cloud. Pidgeot flew high into the air above the clouds as ice began to pelt down on the field. Ash raised his arms to protect him self. It was winter, but Viridian was low and far enough from the mountains that it did not get much snow. Or cold. Ash's teeth chattered at the cold.

'Whirlwind the clouds. Break them apart!' Ash whistled one more time in a trill with a long high whistle.

Pidgeot flew in a wide arc through the clouds. It grunted as ice gathered in its wings. The whirlwind broke some of the clouds but not many. When Pidgeot banked hard to break them again Rhydon launched several high powered ice beams. They sliced through the air and into the clouds. Pidgeot was hit with one. Ash grit his teeth when Pidgeot was slowing down. 'Mimic.'

Pidgeot coo'ed and flew through the clouds. It absorbed the move.

'Blizzard.'

Pidgeot flew above Rhydon's blizzard and released a second cloud of cold air that coalesced into another blizzard. Ash flinched a few times as ice pelted him. He moved back closer to the wall for protection.

'Whirlwind the ground!' Ash saw how passive Rhydon was beyond the long range attacks. He needed to make sure Rhydon would not use any of his physical moves.

Pidgeot flew to the ground.

'Rhydon now's your chance.' Rhydon moved quicker than Ash anticipated. 'Takedown, double edge.' Pidgeot dragged the air current to the ground and was hit hard vertically. Pidgeot lost control of the whirlwind and it quickly dispersed before it began.

Pidgeot tried to regain control of himself but Rhydon was already on top of him. Rhydon raised his arm to finish off Pidgeot.

Pidgeot closed his eyes. Abruptly he turned into a read beam of light. Another shot to the exact same position. Rhydon looked at the smiling eyes of his newest opponent before he was blasted backwards. Rhydon's chin snapped up and he flew several meters from the sudden unexpected blast .

'Gengar!' Gengar laughed before he put his hands on Rhydon's prone body. The Rhydon tried to resist before he fell asleep. Gengar started moving his arms over the Rhydon's head happily eating energy.

Ash allowed himself a moment to survey the field. Giovanni was forced to switch out to cancel the dream eater. Ash mentally cheered to himself for making Giovanni use his only switch for the match. Ash spared a moment to appreciate the hail clouds. Even with the pelting ice, Gengar would have no trouble using his full power now that the sun was blotted out.

Giovanni released his next pokemon with a grim smile. 'Nidoking, It's a Gengar.'

Nidoking burst into a quick attack that was as fast as his pikachu's. Gengar jumped into the air to meet the attack before he faded into a shadow. Nidoking's fist passed harmlessly through him. 'Thunder.' Nidoking blindly exploded into a mass of electricity. Ash was knocked into the wall he was leaning against. For just a moment the clouds cleared from the shock wave before they converged back into the air covering the field.

'Gengar, drain him.' Gengar sank into the ground and appeared out of Nidoking's shadow. He grabbed the leg of the much larger pokemon and gripped his claws into Nidoking's back foot. Energy began to flow into the shadow pokemon. Gengar laughed happily as he was knocked away, but not before he pulled a large mass of energy out of Nidoking. Nidoking grunted before he turned to face Gengar.

'Earthquake.' Nidoking's voice groaned deep in his chest as he dropped to his knees and crushed the earth beneath him. Ash started running further from center to avoid the attack. It ran quickly across the field. Giovanni stayed safe behind his pokemon.

'His shadow!' Ash called urgently. Gengar felt his body wrack in pain trying to avoid the damage he stood on. Gengar faded into the air before he felt himself secure in Nidoking's shadow. 'Submit!' Ash called while jumping over cracks of earth that sprouted ahead of him. The earth quake did not stop and the blizzard over head was making it hard for him to move safely across the ground. He needed to interrupt the earthquake.

Gengar grabbed onto Nidoking's shadow and pulled. Nidoking pulled back on his tail nearly pulling Gengar back out of the shadow. After playing with Ash's shadow for so long, Gengar knew what to expect and braced himself. One of his arms sank back into the shadow only to sprout at Nidoking's leg and pulled again. Nidoking collapsed onto the ground from the awkward hold.

Ash sighed in relief when the earthquake stopped.

'Nidoking Rage.' Giovanni called. A grim smile spread across his face.

Nidoking's body suddenly burst into heat and he slapped his tail into the earth. The impact knocked Gengar away. Nidoking took a moment to fight the mindless control the move forced on him before he glared at the ghost pokemon.. He roared mindlessly. The sound shook the walls and floor. Ash frowned already knowing what to expect from a pokemon that roared like that. Nidoking punched the ghost mass into the air preparing to finish the fight.

Ash called out, 'Hang in there, just a little while longer Gengar.' Gengar grunted as another hit pushed him away from Nidoking. Giovanni's pokemon was fast even while enraged. Nidoking chased after the airborne Gengar and caught his leg. He tugged the little black pokemon back into range of his mega punch.

'Counter.' Ash said calmly. Gengar felt the damage as it hit him. His eyes flashed and a shadow of a fist impacted in perfect timing to Nidoking's temple. Both pokemon shook from the impact and fell to the ground unmoving. The hail above them had slowed during the fight and now only fell as snow. It dusted the two for a few moments while Ash and Giovanni waited to see if either stood up.

Gym leader and trainer exchanged glances silently before they recalled their pokemon.

Ash smiled at Gengar's ball. 'You did a great job there. We'll have a few things we can work on once you are all healed.'

Ash put his pokemon back on his belt and waited for the next opponent.

Giovanni frowned at his ball but put it away. He had not expected Ash to effectively counter his Nidoking's rage so perfectly. Nidoking was experienced enough with fighting moves to see them coming and avoid them. Giovanni shook his head. He gave a brief bark of a laugh before pulled out a pokeball.

'You awake in there?' The ball tilted back and forth in response. 'Then go Rhydon.'

Ash smiled at the response. There were not many options left for Giovanni to respond to a tank like pokemon, 'Like Snorlax. Go!'

Snorlax landed on the ice and snow covered ground. He looked up at the storm above them clearly impressed. 'I know, It's been going the whole fight. That's something to aim for later Snorlax.' Ash called to him.

Rhydon slammed his left fist into his right waiting for his next order. ' Take down.' Rhydon burst into a sprint that covered the cracked and iced earth in several steps.

Snorlax raised his arms and caught the fist and growled at the energy that he had to push against. 'You saw what I saw Snorlax. Just like Jessie.' Ash ordered. He smiled at the confused growl Snorlax gave him. Ash moved away as Snorlax was beginning to get pushed back. Once he was clear of the two pokemon Ash found something he did not notice before. Rhydon was using his tail as leverage against the ground.

'Hyperbeam behind him.'

Snorlax opened his maw and gave up several steps during his deadlock to blast the earth right behind him. Rhydon fell back several steps as the earth behind him gave wave to the crater. Snorlax snapped a mega punch into Rhydon's stomach before Rhydon caught himself and slammed back with another mega punch of his own. The pair exchanged heavy hits as they both began to dig their feet into the ground to hold position. Ash knew Snorlax prided himself on anticipating his opponents actions. But it worked against him as Rhydon kept hammering his right side. Rhydon's reach seemed longer than it should have been. Snorlax batted one arm away and another met his face forcing him back a half step.

'Come on Snorlax, you got this. What did we do yesterday?' Ash called. His face was in a frown and he patiently waited for Snorlax to answer.

Across the field Giovanni watched the exchange occasionally giving orders to try and change up the second deadlock of the match. Giovanni was told Ash was not afraid to loose matches if his pokemon could learn something from them. But it certainly had an effect on him. He ground his teeth and the good humor he had fell away.

'Ash you cheapen this match if you think you can train your pokemon during my fights. Fissure.'

Rhydon slammed one foot into the ground and it sank into the earth. Rhydon was almost pushed over before the earth shook in waves. Snorlax had to back away to catch himself. Flat portions of the field suddenly erupted into chunks of earth. Cracks began to separate the field. 'Harden, Fireblast the ice.'

Ash called as he jumped onto a flat piece of ground. He had to catch himself several times to make sure he did not fall into the cracks himself.

Snorlax reinforced his body with energy and pointed his mouth at the ice on the field. The land flashed into fire before it was extinguished. The melted ice sank into the ground weakening the earth attack. It was not enough to stop the attack completely.

Snorlax ran to the Rhydon. Ash saw him move and called out. 'Metronome. Keep them guessing.'

Ash jumped off the flat earth as it was getting too muddy. He finally found a solid dry piece of ground and looked in time to see Snorlax release a burst of sunlight at the Rhydon. The explosion engulfed both pokemon. The energy began to clear out the clouds above the field.

Ash sighed in relief. Most moves Snorlax did from that attack were useless. Snorlax just did not have the affinity for metronome and it was always a gamble to use it. They got lucky with a solar beam.

Snorlax raised his arms intent on knocking out the weakened Rhydon. He nearly caught a drill horn to his chest. He only had enough reaction to hear what Giovanni called before he broke the attack.

'Good job Snorlax, still haven't figured it out yet?'

Snorlax growled his annoyance.

'Double team, seismic toss. Watch him.' Ash called.

'Rhydon leer, fury attack.' Giovanni ordered. After the initial annoyance, he began to see the by play on the trainer and pokemon fascinating to watch in practice..

Rydon's eyes turned vibrant blue as Snorlax split into several images. Only one of them hesitated. Rhydon charge the slower Snorlax and buried his fists into the larger pokemon. The fury onslaught was relentless. Left, left, left, right, right, left, Snorlax finally realized what Ash was telling him. Rhydon slowed for his final fury hit with his left. This Rydon was left handed. Snorlax batted the arm away and gripped it before he flipped Rhydon over his head into a seismic toss. The earth sank and shuddered. Still frozen ground and muddy slosh flew into the air.

Ash cheered. 'Good job Snorlax, you figured it out.' Snorlax nodded. His body was weak from the attack and he let the unconscious pokemon go. He turned back to Giovanni waiting for the next fight.

Giovanni took a moment to look at the field. He relaxed and started to laugh. He played right into Ash's hands. 'That's why you were so intent on that blizzard.'

Ash smiled. 'It's a lot harder for you to use earth attacks with so much water right?'

Giovanni sighed as he released his next pokemon. 'Get to work Onix.'

Giovanni's Onix was easily twice the size of Brocks. It was a dark gray mass of boulders that tapered off into a row of spikes on its back. Ash thought it looked more like a skeleton's spine than an Onix. It loomed over Snorlax. It's head rose as tall as the second floor of the courtyard.

Giovanni thought back to Ash's fight in Cinnabar. 'Screech.'

Onix raised its head and gave a sound so loud its shattered the windows surrounding the gym. Snorlax shuddered and covered his ears from the sound. Ash stood still watching the pokemon. It felt like the world shook from that single call. After a moment Ash moved his hand to his chest and exhaled to calm himself.

Onix lazily moved his gaze back to the Snorlax. 'Clear the field. We need solid ground.' Giovanni ordered.

Onix raised its massive bulk of a tail and rolled his body around to swing it across the field. It's body dragged itself across the field pushing up mud, ice and water before it shoveled it all to the edge of the gym. Onix allowed it all to slam into the side of the mansion unconcerned about the damage to the building.

Ash gasped as the pokemon did not look like it was done yet. 'Snorlax! Harden' Ash ran to the wall of the mansion and started to grab and climb onto window the ledges to lift himself to a higher section of the wall.

Onix made one final sweep of his body across the untouched part of the gym and Snorlax had to brace himself from the impact. Snorlax's body cratered into the mansion wall. He slowly got up and glared at the pokemon. His body was already weak from the Rhydon. He looked at Ash. He gave a relieved grunt when he saw that Ash was alright. He tipped forward from the wall and fell flat on the ground.

Ash jumped down from the window ledge he hung from and recalled his pokemon. 'Good job Snorlax. We'll keep practicing later.'

Ash put away the pokeball and looked up to the Onix then over to Giovanni. Ash had to smile at the splatters of mud that covered Giovanni's suit pants and button up shirt. Ash was not sure how he would react to Giovanni if he had fought him before Elafris. But after Blaine's gym, he saw a powerful pokemon and gave a look of appreciation for the effort it took to train him. 'Psyduck. Let's go.'

Psyduck landed on the ground and immediately craned its neck back to look at the massive pokemon. It was easily larger than any of the Gryados they had fought.

'The field is a playground.' Ash called cryptically. He eyed Giovanni while Psyduck began to levitate into the air. Psyduck knew better than to start using amnesia. This would be a test to see if he could keep is composure.

'Bubblebeam.' Ash called from behind Psyduck. Psyduck spouted out a volley of bubbles in a narrow beam that lanced against Onix's body. Onix grunted at the impact.

'Rock slide.' Giovanni jumped back as soon as he gave the order. Ash ran to the side of the field just as Onix raised its tail. It flailed into the ground breaking apart the earth and pushing up spikes rock before they began to collapse towards Psyduck. Psyduck teleported above the rocks and hovered in the air. 'Hydro Pump to push it away, you're too close.'

Psyduck opened his mouth to launch the water attack.

Giovanni and Onix both followed Psyducks movement. 'Take down.' Onix coiled under himself and launched himself into the air. Psyduck teleported quickly to the ground and very nearly lost control of the Hydropump before he launched it from the ground to the airborne Onix. It slammed the Onix hard into the side of the mansion masonry. Already broken windows collapsed under the weight of the pokemon and Onix slid down the side of the wall. Psyduck let the hydropump stop to move away from the Onix.

'Onix, Double team, dig.' Giovanni ordered while appraising the Psyduck. This was the pokemon Giovanni was most interested in. It was the only psychic pokemon Ash owned, and if Ash was involved in the New Island incident, Psyduck would be the pokemon Ash used.

Onix wrapped around himself for a moment before three Onix exploded from the pokemon. An explosion of dust kicked into the air and the three Onix were underground.

'Find it Psyduck.' Psyduck let his mind expand and it enveloped the area. His mind looked into the field and the ground below him. He found the pokemon and waited.

Psyduck levitated into the air as it started coming back up into the ground. Three copies of the stone pokemon took turns to attack the water pokemon. Psyduck ignored the first and teleported away from the second. The third simply disappeared into nothingness now that it was not needed. Onix circled around in an "s" pattern. 'Skull bash.' Giovanni ordered.

Psyduck stood still waiting for his next order. Ash called, 'Wait for it.' Ash started moving further away, Onix took up a lot of the gym floor and Ash was starting to run out of room to stay away from the Onix as it attacked. 'Disable!' Ash called as he ran around the upturned earth and slowed as he met flat land next to Giovanni. He stood next to the gym leader and smiled at the older man.

Psyduck's eyes flashed and Onix fell. The momentum of the attack made him crash into the ground. Ash heard the cracking sound of the earth and started moving back to survey the damage. 'Psyduck Hydropump!'

Onix was quick to try and get back up to counter attack. Psyduck opened his mouth and shot the torrent of water in a narrow beam aimed at Onix's head. Onix gave a groan as the force of the attack slammed his head against the ground where it was pinned under the water. His body spasmed for a moment before it slumped to the ground. The tonnes of weight that shook the earth finally stopped.

Psyduck levitated himself back down to the ground and waited at the center of the ring. 'Good job Psyduck. We have one more to go!' Psyduck quacked happily.

Giovanni nodded to himself while he mentally reviewed the fight. The Psyduck used quite a few water moves, but it was not the psychic powerhouse he still waited to see. But he must be strong if he could compete step for step against Sabrina. She had confirmed with him that he fought her Alakazam with his Psyduck in a psychic battle.

Giovanni gave the boy a nod before he took out his last pokemon. 'You have done a good job Ash. But this will be where I sweep the last of your pokemon. Persian, Viridian needs you.'

A large cat pokemon landed softly on the ground. A gem rested elegantly on its forehead and it glinted in the sunlight. That made Ash look at the sky. The clouds were completely clear.

'Let's go Psyduck. Confusion.' Ash frowned at the cat pokemon. The huge lumbering pokemon Giovanni was using up till now were all fast. He didn't like the idea of a naturally fast moving pokemon being trained under Giovanni as an opponent. Ash thought it was strange that Giovanni had a Persian in his roster for the gym battle. It made more sense now.

Psyduck's psychic attack latched onto Persian's mind. Psyduck thrust the spike of energy into the Persian's mind only for the cat to disappear. The uncalled quick attack nearly plowed over Psyduck. If he was not linked to the other pokemon's mind, he would have not been able to teleport out in time. Psyduck hovered in the air and watched the Persian.

'Thunder.' Persian gave no signs that it charged the attack. It simply exploded with electricity. Ash cried out as the attack hit both him and Giovanni. Giovanni stood by passively and took the electric hit. Ash would have been able to handle it if he was prepared but the attack was instant. Ash looked at Psyduck who fell to the ground. Psyduck was disoriented. He rolled his head around to look at Persian who appeared in front of him and swiped his paw with claws extended. Giovanni was not letting the attack slow the fight down.

'Set it up.' Ash called while he shook of the electricity. Psyduck locked his eyes onto the Persian's. The disable stopped the swipe attack cold. At the same time Psyduck dove into Persian's mind. Persian flinched back and fell backwards and rolled on the ground in pain. It tried to fight back the confusion attack before it was able to slowly regain control of its mind. Ash knew he should not have been surprised how fast Persian recovered, but he had to hand it to the pokemon and Giovanni. That recovery was the fastest he had ever seen from an attack that did damage.

'Double edge.' Giovanni called. He had enough of Psyduck. That simultaneous attack and defense is a serious threat.

Persian jumped forward and disappeared in front of Psyduck. Psyduck had no time to realize the move was done to force him to teleport. Persian was quick enough to cover the land to Psyduck's newest location and hit the duck pokemon in the back. Psyduck cried out in pain. His body fell to the ground in an arc. His body did not move in the air as it quickly approached the ground. Ash simply recalled him. That damage was serious enough to take him out of the match immediately.

Persian moved back to stand in front of Giovanni. It's tail danced behind him. Giovanni and his pokemon waited for Ash to make his next move. Ash pulled out Pidgeot's pokeball. 'Keep to the air. He is fast and has long range attacks.' He whispered to the ball. Ash released Pidgeot.

'He's already weak. Quick attack.' Giovanni had was looking at the Pidgeot when he gave his order. His Persian followed the pokemon as well until he was given his orders. Persian simply moved his legs underneath his body and pounced. Pidgeot's eyes were sharp enough to track the cat's movements as it bounded off the walls of the courtyard and right to him.

'Swift and fly up.' Ash gave a quick whistle. Pidgeot was able to dodge the attack and spun to launch several balls of energy that rocketed towards Persian. The stars were knocked away by Persian's tail, but it was enough time for Pidgeot to disappear into the sky.

The sky suddenly turned dark as clouds formed. Giovanni smirked. Apparently Pidgeot still remembered that Blizzard move he copied. Ice pelted the field before the clouds began to condense on themselves. 'Get ready to attack. He is bringing that storm to us.' Giovanni told his pokemon.

Giovanni did not have to wait long. The storm clouds that had hailed ice began to whirl into a whirlwind high in the sky.

Pidgeot had the idea for the attack for some time. Ash had asked him to do something similar when they defended those ships months ago. It was something he could never do on his own since he did not have any way to rapidly change the temperature of the air to make the necessary air currents. With the copied blizzard, this was the first time he ever had the ability to try to do it all on his own. He flapped his wings hard building the whirl wind into the clouds and felt the current go faster than he could normally fly. He raised his wings and used the tail wind of the air current to go faster. The ice in the blizzard was beginning to frost his wings and the weight was making it harder to fly.

He looked at the field and he spotted Ash smiling at him. His trainer was crouched low and prepared for the attack. Pidgeot flipped in the air and pulled the air currents down towards the ground. The hail flew in the whirlwind. It howled in his ears as his self made hurricane touched the ground.

Pidgeot's wings began to wobble as the air pressure suddenly changed when he went below the roof of the courtyard. He tried his best to guide the hurricane towards Persian but all he could feel was pain and bright red lights flashed in his eyes before he fell unconscious.

Ash grit his teeth as he saw Pidgeot knock himself out in the attack. He quickly recalled him before Pidgeot was pulled into the vortex. Pidgeot did it. He completed the hurricane. The wind touched down and Persian and the two humans in the field did their best not to get sucked in. The air current began to lift the frozen slosh and smaller rocks and boulders into it.

Giovanni ran to the windows and gripped the broken window sill. He could worry about the broken glass later. Ash across the field was not near the strongest air currents, but he was lighter. He pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around the window frame and ledge hoping the stone would be strong enough to keep him grounded.

Persian was nearest to the air currents and clawed the earth. Patches of ice began to coat his body from the ice. After a few moments Persian felt the winds begin to slow. He relaxed for just a moment. That was enough to pull him into the air. Persian growled in alarm. Several rocks inside the hurricane pummeled him from all sides. Ice pelted his sleek coat making the cat soaked and cold.

'Hyperbeam, we need to heat up the air!' Persian opened his mouth while trying to keep himself balanced. He shot a super heated blast to the ground at the center of the hurricane. The winds finally slowed enough for him to catch himself on the roof of the mansion. Thankfully when the hurricane landed, it did not go much higher than the mansion itself. The clouds from the last blizzard disappeared and Persian bounced against the courtyard walls to land back on the ground.

Ash exhaled and pulled out Pidgeot's pokeball. 'That was amazing Pidgeot. Get some rest.' Ash put the pokeball back on his belt and pulled out his last pokemon.

'Pikachu, Let's go!'

Pikachu bounced into the field and gave a 'pik-ha' at the sight of the field. It was no longer flat and what was not covered in ice was torn up by either wind or earthquakes.

'He's been using the walls to move around Pikachu.'

Giovanni spared a glance to Persian. The cat did not show it but his chest indicated he was breathing heavily. Giovanni had to give credit where credit was due. Ash had already lasted longer than Giovanni expected the young man would. He looked at the newest opponent before he called to Ash over the distance of the field.

'This was a good gym battle Ash. It's been a while since someone has done anything that really interested me. I had quite a few surprises today.'

Ash smiled. 'Thank you Giovanni. Fighting like this is really fun and a little crazy. But my training can be pretty crazy too.'

Giovanni smiled. He remembered the skirmish Ash had with his Psyduck.

'Let's finish this Persian. One last pokemon.'

Persian stretched his legs. The ground exploded as the cat pokemon disappeared. Pikachu did not need any instructions for this part. He disappeared in a whine of electricity.

Ash felt blinded by a flash of light as both pokemon bounded across the field and met at the center of the field. Pikachu twisted his body at the same time Persian did. Both avoided the head on collision. Persian swung his heavy tail and slammed Pikachu in his stomach just as Pikachu twisted his tail and scrapped it across Persian's hindquarters. Pikachu crashed into the ground craking the earth below him. Persian growled in pain and tried to land after experiencing an unexpected one-hundred-thousand volts of electricity. The cat pokemon landed softly and flinched before he started to scratch the earth and turned to Pikachu.

Pikachu laid there for a moment before he rolled on to his four legs and stood back up. He grimaced in pain. 'Pika-pi.'

'I know. Charge.' Pikachu grimaced at his ribs, but started to charge electricity. He waited for Persian to come into range.

'Persian. Strength.' Ash looked up at Giovanni. It was a move he never heard of before. Persian extended its claws and swiped at the ground. Lines circled around a boulder that was dislodge from a previous fight. Persian used his hindlegs to kick it into the air and jumped to it before he torqued his body into an arc. The second kick launched the massive rock at Pikachu.

Pikachu disappeared into a quick attack. Ash called out to Pikachu in alarm. The attack was fast and accurate. Pikachu bounded off the wall and skidded to a halt to stop under the falling Persian. He released his strongest thunder at Persian who flinched.

'Cut.' Persian spun and swiped at the air. A glint of light appeared off three of his claws before they kept moving towards Pikachu. Pikachu used another quick attack and bounded off the walls of the battle field. The lines dug into the boulders below. The rocks cracked and crumbled under the attack. A second later the ground exploded into three jagged crevices. Pikachu caught himself on a window sill and looked at Persian. He had never seen those kinds of moves before.

'Flash, Hyperbeam.' Ash cried out as the gem on Persian's forehead lit the gym in a bright light. Ash could only hear Pikachu cry in pain at the same moment an explosion rang in his ears. The floor shook for a moment before he could get his sight back.

Pikachu was nailed again in a tackle. Pikachu's body rolled and bounced off the jagged rocks that littered the room.

'Finish it, Hyperbeam.'

Pikachu stood up but found he could not move very well. 'Take it Pikachu!' Pikachu widened his eyes and instantly raised his tail. He was not able to dig his feet into the ground to prepare himself in time. Pikachu cried as he was pushed back against the attack and was hit into the boulder. His claws had slowed him down but the pressure of the hyperbeam crushed him against the boulder.

'PIK-AH!' Pikachu cried in an attempt to squeeze all the energy into his body. It was hot. It burned his body and it did not want to change. The energy was heavy, as hard and compact as any rock Pikachu targeted during practice. Pikachu stomped his front legs again and breathed. The energy began to break apart. It was slow at first. Pikachu could feel Persian move to make a second attack while he handled the hyperbeam. The energy began to change. Finally like an avalanche, the energy was his.

'PIKACHU!' Pikachu roared. Persian was on top of him. Paws raised to finish the fight. Pikachu had no time to turn and aim. He simply released all the electricity he had been charging. The electricity started as a dome around the pair. A single snap of electricity barreled to the gym wall. It exploded against the concrete. Another reached another point in the gym. Ash and Giovanni tried their best to protect themselves before the dome expanded and enveloped the gym. Minor explosions surrounded the gym and the center erupted in an explosion that knocked Ash around.

Ash tried to count how long it lasted. It could not have been a scant few seconds but the pain and flash of lights that ran across his eyes and body made it feel longer. He was instantly dizzy and nauseous.

Ash tried and failed to stand up a few times before he looked over the rocks that he took cover behind. Pikachu and Persian laid still in a circle of cleared earth. Scorch marks patterned across the ground in a web from the center between them.

Ash stood up and went to his pokemon. Pikachu did his best. But this would be a tie. Giovanni won. He kept his defense.

Ash did not care about that right now. _Pikachu. He needs to be OK._

Ash finally fell to his knees and looked down at his pokemon. The little mouse was still hot to the touch and slightly smoking. Ash was relieved to see his partner's chest still moving. He took the small mouse into his arms and cradled him. Ash pulled out a potion and pulled the cap off with his teeth. Pikachu would need the concentrated dose, not some weak spray. Ash placed some in the small mouth. Pikachu reflexively swallowed the drops that fell on his tongue. Pikachu sighed but did not wake. Ash recalled him and tried to stand up but sunk back to the ground. He had not realized Persian had not moved. Ash looked up to Giovanni to find that the man still had not stood up.

'Shit.' Ash placed the remains of the bottle against Persian's tongue. The other pokemon licked and swallowed a small dose but did not rouse either. Ash tried one more time to stand and hobbled over to the gym leader. Distantly he could hear shouts and calls from inside the mansion.

 _That's right, people were watching on the second floor._ The thought that someone else may have been hit from that attack made him nauseous again but for a different reason.

'Giovanni, are you alright?' Ash walked up to the man and was happy to see him still breathing. The older man flinched before his eyes fluttered open. The doors to the courtyard were covered in debris and several men and woman entered the courtyard through the broken windows. They ran towards the pair.

'That was a very powerful attack Ash.' Giovanni said. Ash wondered at the comment. It looked like it was more to himself than to Ash.

'It was a double knock out then?'

Ash nodded but frowned at the loss. While he had not minded earning a loss on principal...That last battle was intense. He was not looking forward to another attempt.

At least Ash could say honestly had more fun than he had expected after his gym battle with Blaine. Ash began to loose focus and lost himself in thought. A murmur of noise next to him made him realize Giovanni asked him a question. Ash blinked and looked at the older man.

'I am sorry what was that Sir?'

Giovanni started to laugh at the look on the boys face before he flinched. 'That hurts.' Giovanni started to become more alert as the medical personnel examined him. One pulled Ash away to examine him as well. The check up did not last long. The examiner was satisfied that Ash was alright after only a brief check up. Ash turned back to Giovanni who had several people examine him. He batted away a few questions before he looked to Ash.

'Ash I said earlier, by rights you should have won that. My Persian...' Giovanni held his partner's pokeball. Ash did not even realize Giovanni recalled the pokemon. Ash must have been more worn out than he realized. He refocused on Giovanni to see him look up from his pokemon's ball. 'Ash, Persian is a ringer.'

Giovanni repressed a laugh at the uncomprehending look the boy gave him. 'Persian is a pokemon who is trained and won at the world stage before he retired.' Ash looked surprised.

Giovanni smiled but shook his head. 'Don't be too excited. There was a reason he had to retire. Persian is ill. He can no longer fight longer than a few minutes at a time. He no longer has the stamina. And he taxed it fighting your team.'

Giovanni looked at Ash. 'You lasted longer than I thought you would have against Persian. I commend you. But it was a double knock out-'

Ash decided to bite the bullet and said, 'I understand Sir. Do you know if you will be back before the new comer tournament?'

Giovanni looked at him. Blinked. Then looked at him again. 'You could battle Jessie or James for your win Ash.' Giovanni was happy with the interruption. It was something to pick Ash's brain about.

Ash shook his head. 'It would not be fair and it would not feel right earning my badge from anyone else other than you.'

Giovanni felt himself smile. 'Ash. You are a good kid. You won this fight.' Giovanni suddenly felt like he did not want to fight this kid again. He flinched under the pain as a doctor looked at the side of his head and neck.

'I concede.'

Ash looked at him like he wanted to argue. 'Sir, It feels like I would get special treatment if I just get a badge for only half way winning the badge.'

Giovanni gave the kid a hard look. 'Ash Ketchum. You are already getting special treatment. Look at this field and tell me you think every gym battle turns out like this.' Ash looked at the field before he shook his head. Ash already learned that lesson.

'Ash. Every gym leader had to prepare for these types of fights. You know this. That is a form of special treatment. One I think you would appreciate more than others. Take the victory for what it is. As soon as I was knocked out I loss. It happens some times.'

Ash could not hold back the question. 'The knock outs in general or you in particular?'

Giovanni had to hold his ribs as he laughed. 'That still hurts. Both actually.' Giovanni pulled out a badge from his button up shirt pocket. 'I lost by knock out. Congratulations young man.'

Ash looked at the earth badge. He gave it a small smile before he looked back to Giovanni. 'Will this put you behind for your trip?' Ash would feel guilty if it did.

Giovanni gave the boy a considering look. 'You are very naive Ash.' Giovanni looked to the sky. The sky was clear but the cold air had started to settle into the courtyard. 'Well I supposed innocent would be the better word.'

Ash looked at him confused before he turned back to the gym field then back to Giovanni. 'Did you expect to get hurt during this fight?'

The medical personal slowly cleared off now that Giovanni was standing on his own two feet. Really the knock out was from the hard jolt of energy to his body. Giovanni gave the boy a smirk. 'I can't say the thought did not cross my mind.'

Ash scratched his head at the idea of planning around a defeat. That was different.

'I am a businessman first Ash. I can say I am a very good trainer. But it is not my passion. It is just my job.' Giovanni patted his pokeballs on his belt. 'I take my jobs seriously. I'll put everything into them. But my passion projects? Those take not just weeks or months of planning.' Ash watched Giovanni give a predatory smile. 'They take years. Being injured for a few days is a drop in the well when all is considered. I am about to start one of my passion projects in a few weeks. That is why I wanted to have Jessie and James to temporarily replace me.'

Ash grunted in acknowledgement. He had been weary of the man. But the gym leader had a very different perspective on things. Ash found he was very interested in what Giovanni had to say.

Giovanni was given his jacket and placed it over his shoulder. He pulled the watch out of the coat pocket and put it back on. After pulling off his tie he looked back to Ash. 'Ash, I don't plan on being a gym leader forever. I have put enough effort and money into Viridian City that I want to see it grow. I think very soon that means I will have to give up being its Gym leader.'

Ash gave a voiceless 'oh.'

Giovanni had led Ash back to one of the gyms where Jessie sat with her Arbok.

'Hey Jessie!' Ash waved at the older woman. She smiled back at him and stood up.

Ash turned back to Giovanni and bowed to him. 'Thank you for the battle. I learned a lot from you.'

Giovanni gave an unrepressed grin that showed some teeth. 'Hopefully it was more than just about pokemon. Remember what I shared with you Ash. You might find your self with a similar choice.'

Ash gave a thoughtful look before he remembered. 'Giovanni? I had one more question for you before you go.'

Giovanni repressed the habit to look at his watch and turned back to Ash. 'What is it Ash?'

'Did Koga's daughter Janine fight you yet? I have not been able to talk to her in a while.'

Giovanni nodded. 'Kyo had trained her well. She only needed a second attempt to beat me with her team. Granted it was not the same team I used with you. But the difficulty was close to what you had outside of Persian.'

Ash could not contain his smile. That meant Janine might be back in Fuchsia City.

'Thank you Giovanni. I'll stop taking up your time. I was just going to say goodbye to James and Jessie.'

The older man walked with Ash. 'Jessie, where is James?'

Jessie stood at attention. 'He stepped out to get his pokemon from the recovery unit. They had been just knocked out, and had no serious injuries.'

Giovanni walked up and past Jessie. He patted her shoulder. 'Good job today.' He walked past the shocked Jessie and out towards the exit. James came through the door and stopped short.

'Sir! I-'

Giovanni just patted the younger mans back and walked past. 'Keep doing the good work.' James stood still surprised. The doors closed and Jessie and James had equal smiles of joy on their faces.

A/N: And Chapter 13 is done! Whew. I had to make a few compromises for this one. I wanted to do more with Jessie and James but I couldn't make it all fit within chapters twelve and thirteen. So I was forced to use flash backs. Ug Not a big fan of those. At least all the scenes I wrote for them went to the cutting room floor.

Thank you all for the reviews!

I am moving soon before the new year so I am unsure if I will have the next chapter posted before then. I would like to only because I **will** not have internet for who knows how long.


	14. Chapter 14: A normal life

Chapter 14

Ash laid down on the bed with a groan. It had been a long day and his pokemon had just been placed in the recovery unit. Ash sigh as he closed his eyes and began to review the gym battle. He had so many things he wanted to go over with his pokemon but he felt he had to think about it all or he would forget.

Ash sat up and went to his bag. He finally found his notes and started to write down things he noticed. There were a lot of facts that made him relieved he did not have to battle Giovanni again. Ash felt uneasy about his performance in the gym battle. After he mulled it over he decided he did not like the idea he could not control the battle field. In other gym battles, Ash felt he always had an advantage. But this last fight, Ash really felt like he struggled the entire time.

Giovanni controlled the field the moment his Rhydon set up that blizzard. He was able to control the conditions of the fight until Pidgeot was able to come back out. Ash did not think it was a coincidence that Pidgeot was able to take control of the field so quickly after he was brought back out.

Ash would freely admit the gym fight was fun. Giovanni's team was fast and strong. But now that the danger and adrenaline was gone, Ash allowed himself to be disturbed by it all. It was a gym battle where either trainer could get hurt. It made sense in the field but after the fact Ash could not help but think about how stupid it sounded.

Ash kept his eyes closed as he wrote about what the field looked like after each bout. In Blaine's fight, he gave no thought to the field when he swapped out his team. This time there were a lot of obstacles all of his pokemon had to work around. But they did not affect his team like he thought they would.

Ash ultimately decided it was because of the type of pokemon Giovanni used. They did not need to move around the field. And the ones that did, did not actually use the ground anyway. Ash immediately thought of Giovanni's Persian. Ash set down his pencil and opened his eyes. The notes were barely in straight lines as often occurred when he wrote notes in this way.

The end of the match struck him as the first moment Ash realized they were in considerable danger. Ash could have easily been hurt and rendered unconscious. Ash wondered what kind of company and training Giovanni used to give those kinds of rules. When Ash thought about it, he never did say that gym was used for gym battles, but for training his employees.

Huh.

Ash thought back to how quick the medical team responded to the explosion. Ash was very curious who viewed the match. He had thought James and Jessie would have watched, but it was only after he spoke to them both that he found they had simultaneous defenses they had to perform for the gym. With the season close to an end in a few months, Viridian Gym was the gym to beat before the new comers tournament.

At least the medical personal moved fast to check on both them and their pokemon. He didn't think Giovanni would have appreciated laying flat on his back in that expensive suit while Ash went to get someone...

Ash paused in mid thought. Why was there so much flat ground on Giovanni's side?

Ash closed his eyes and really tried to remember the details of the field where Giovanni laid. Ash had to jump and move over a lot of upturned earth to get to Giovanni but Ash never did realize how much of the gym Giovanni stood on was flat and untouched from the fight.

Ash opened his eyes again and wondered at the rules then. If Giovanni did not need to move around to avoid his own pokemon's moves. 'Maybe the rules were to protect me.'

Ash sighed in frustration and ran his hands through his hair. It was coarse and still dirty.

'Ok enough thinking about this, I need a shower.'

Ash got up and headed to the bathroom. The fight still ran in the back of his mind. His team had a long ways to go.

-o-

Giovanni stood in front of the monitor that had recorded the same match. But his focus was on Ash's Psyduck. While the simultaneous defense and attack was a clever trick. That was all it was, a skill Psyduck practiced. It was not some one of special power.

Giovanni beeped in someone at the door when he turned off the monitor.

A blonde woman in a black shirt and skirt walked in.

'You called for me Giovanni Sir?'

'Cassidy, I need you do do some leg work for me.'

Cassidy stood at attention and smiled. 'Anything you ask Sir.'

Giovanni leaned back in his chair with a leather made "Creak". Giovanni gave her a steady look before he opened a drawer and took out a box. He set it on the desk. 'There is a boy named Ash Ketchum. Kanto Home Security believes that he was the individual who interfered with the New Island incident a few weeks ago. Officially, I want you to observe him until he completes his final gym challenge and report back if there are any reasonable accounts of psychic powers being used. Either by him or his Psyduck. We need documented evidence beyond reasonable doubt in order to take him into custody.'

Cassidy nodded for a moment before she laughed and leaned against his desk. She had heard most of this story already. 'I take it this is about that contract.'

Giovanni nodded. 'Home Security has seen fit that we are responsible for tracking down Mewtwo.'

Cassidy frowned at that news. She did not see how it was their fault. 'Unofficially Sir?'

'I do not care about the pokemon. Ash however may become an asset in the coming years. I need a reasonable bit of evidence to affirm the boy is not involved to end the contract. If you find proof of the boy's involvement, report it to me, and erase it at your discretion.' Cassidy stirred at that news but gave a firm nod.

'I will be moving on to other leads. A psychic pokemon should not be this hard to track. But if the initial incident was to be believed, the pokemon was emitting a powerful amount of energy and no psychic within hundreds of miles could feel the distortion.'

Cassidy stood up and waved at her boss. 'I'll see what I can do. I'll follow him at a safe distance. Any leads on where he is now?'

Giovanni tossed her a pokedex. 'This is a Kanto issued pokedex. Don't loose it. It can track Ash Ketchum where ever he goes. The young man can both fly and teleport, but he should be going to Koga's gym soon.'

Cassidy played with the pokedex. 'We'll that's too bad, I was hoping I could live the high life here while you were gone.'

Giovanni smirked at the girl. He enjoyed denying her requests. 'Jessie and James have proven more than up to the task for defending Viridian.'

Giovanni stood and opened the box to reveal two pokeballs attatched to a belt. He set them on the table and looked at her. 'You will needs these two out at all times while you are on this mission. One is to deflect attention and the other is to absorb energy of those who are looking for you. Don't even think about approaching Ash's vicinity with out these two out of their pokeballs. You have your job Cassidy.'

Cassidy nodded while looking at the balls. She would find out what they were later. She had a jet to prepare.

-o-

Ash strapped on the saddle. He stayed in one location long enough and it he was feeling the itch to get back on the road. Ash spent three days at the Pokemon center and only briefly walked out of town to help his pokemon stretch. They were all still sore and Ash wanted them to all recover before they did anything serious.

Ash thought about the flight ahead of them. The journey to Fuchsia would be short. Ash was almost prepared to walk part of it just so he could have time for his pokemon to rest a little more. None of his pokemon have had battles so close to one another. It was something he would have to think to practice if he wanted to fight in any tournament.

Ash was eager to start his last gym right away. With Pidgeot able to fly him and Psyduck able to teleport them around the region that was an actual option. There was only one reason why Ash held back from immediately go to Koga's gym and challenge Fuscia's gym for his last badge. Ash felt it was more important the team review their last fights and make sure they learned from the fight.

Pidgeot and Pikachu did a few moves he wanted to refine, and Gengar and Snorlax both were shown moves that were done properly and with power. Hopefully the moves Ash wanted to have them learn would be easier after they saw an example. Psyduck felt the most natural of the group. Ash was relieved with how well they worked. Ash had started to move away from psychic moves so Psyduck would not need to rely on Amnesia. But he felt it was time for Psyduck practice psychic moves again.

Ash mounted Pidgeot and opened a communication with his pokedex. He did not need to use it last night to call his mom but he was eager to try it. Pidgeot took to the air and started to do slow sweeping circles around Viridian while Ash called Gary.

The pokedex had a blank screen with four dots that scrolled across the bottom with the screen with the words: CONNECTING... Flashed on the center of the screen.

A few moments later Gary appeared on the screen. Ash smiled at the technology. 'Gary!'

Gary laughed. 'Sup Ash? Did you win?'

Ash nodded. 'Yeah and I took the job. Giovanni wanted me to help two of his employees with their battling. They will be covering for him while he leaves town.'

Gary gave an 'ah' before he moaned. 'You mean I could have gotten an easier time if I had waited?'

Ash laughed. 'Not by much now.'

Gary smirked. 'Too bad. What are you going to do now?'

Ash shrugged his shoulders. 'I don't actually know. I need my pokemon to take a break for a bit. I am half tempted to go back to Pallet for a bit. But mom already said good bye. Now it would be weird if I just showed up again.'

'I am sure she wouldn't mind. I do have to go to Cerulean for grandpa. Did you want to go meet up there and do something?'

Ash liked the idea and it showed. 'I want to see if Misty can come along. Would that be alright?'

Gary looked at Ash surprised. 'The gym leader? Sure if you want. Do you want to try and contact your other girl friend too?' Gary teased.

Ash just reddened. 'When will you be in Cerulean?'

Gary laughed. 'Give me an hour, I'll teleport there.'

Ash grunted an agreement. 'I'll probably just fly there. Its close enough that I might still beat you. See you at the Pokemon center.'

'So you are not calling whats her name? Janie?'

Ash absently corrected, 'Janine.' Gary laughed at the slight smile Ash gave at the name. Ash glared at Garys' bellied laugh before he closed the pokedex to disconnect the communication completely. Ash opened back up and dialed Cerulean Gym's id number.

The signal beeped four times before someone answered. Ash smiled at the woman on the screen. She was in make up and a swim suit. Ash supposed she was getting ready for a performance. That was a good sign. Misty complained several times how she had to close the gym so the girls could perform. 'Hi Lilly is Misty there?'

'Hey Ash. Yeah give me a minute.' Lily went of screen. Ash patted Pidgeot's head in thanks for being so patient. The bird seemed to like gliding and did not mind just flying on the currents.

'Ash!'

Ash grinned at Misty. 'Hey Misty! Look!' Ash turned his pokedex around and showed here where he was.

'Wha- How did you pull that off?' Misty asked excitedly.

'Gary Oak gave me an adaptor for my pokedex. He's going to be in Cerulean soon and I am meeting him there, would be free to meet up with us today?'

Misty gave an excited 'Oooh! Yes! I am doing nothing today. Where we meeting up at?'

'The pokemon center. Gary has a quick job to do, but after that he is free. I have been wanting to get us all together for a while. But with me and Gary now able to get around like we want its possible.'

Misty grinned.

'What?'

Misty laughed. 'You're a dork. Janine is done training. Have you talked to her at all?'

Ash frowned. 'No I haven't. I was not even sure she would be back in Fuchsia. I only got the confirmation from Giovanni she had visited recently.'

'Call Koga and see if she is in and at least chat with her. I'll see you guys when exactly?'

'We should be flying in to Cerulean in an hour.'

'Plenty of time to chat with her if she is in.' Misty winked at him. Ash gave her a blank look. Misty gave him a look and waited eagerly. When Ash made no move to close the line, she puffed her cheeks. 'Call her Ash! I haven't talked to her in a while either but I know she would rather say hi to you rather than me.'

The screen went blank and Ash wondered why Janine is on both of his friends minds. Ash closed the pokedex and opened it again. Ash still had Koga's gym id. Janine made sure he did before he left Fuchsia. He input the number and waited. The wind had picked up and Ash felt his stomach lurch as the drop in altitude. Pidgeot cawed out an apology.

'It's ok Pidgeot.' Ash patted the birds neck. Ash looked at the screen just as the other side of the channel burst to life.

'Fuschia Gym. This is Koga.'

'Good morning sir.'

Koga looked at the young man and gave a slight smile. 'I was expecting you soon. But I heard you went to Viridian first.'

Ash nodded with a small smile playing across his face. 'Yes sir. I actually wanted to know if Janine made it back to Fuchsia already?'

Koga gave the boy an indulgent smile. 'Yes she did. She has only been home for a few days now. Just a moment Ash.'

Ash had an idea and balanced his pokedex in one hand. The Misty and Gary meet-up was too good of an opportunity to not get all of his friends together. He patted Pidgeot to land quickly. The bird landed and Ash released Psyduck. Psyduck looked around quickly before he turned to Ash. Ash smiled. The ache from the absent connection with his pokemon was dulled in the past few weeks, but he missed it.

'Psyduck think you are well enough to teleport us to Koga's gym and then to Cerulean with a passenger?'

Psyduck gave him a blank look and exhaled. Immediately Pidgeot smacked Ash's hat off. Ash went to ask what was going on before Pidgeot cooed in amusement at him. Then he gestured to Psyduck. Ash laughed at Psyduck's annoyance. 'Thank you buddy.'

Psyduck nodded and his eyes glowed. A moment later, he floated in the air. Ash unfastened his harness from the saddle and recalled Pidgeot. Ash waited for a few minutes until Janine came running into view.

'Ash! How have you been?' She slammed against the console and the camera shook slightly. Ash looked at the older girl. Ash did not know a smile could hurt his face so much. But his mouth split into a grin. It was always hard to not get excited by how much energy she had.

'Janine! It's been a while!' Ash took a moment to really look at her. Her hair was down for once. Her dark tan had faded slightly from traveling on the northern side of the country. 'Do you have the day free?'

Janine giggled. 'Yes I do. Were you planning to chat my ear off?' She asked playfully. She could hear a snap of a sound from the other side of the communication before the line was abruptly disconnected.

'Ash? Hey Ash! Where were calling from!' She asked urgently from the already dead connection. 'Well, that just...' Janine sighed.

'Oi! Janine!'

Janine felt her chest flip at the voice. 'He did not just call from the Pokemon Center in town.' She said in an annoyed pout. She stood up and started walking outside. Her father and Kyo were both at the door making polite conversation with Ash.

'Thank you Sir! I will be ready for our gym battle soon. Giovanni really showed me a few things I need to fix before I challenge your gym. But I promised my self a few days to take a break. I really appreciate it.' Ash chatter quickly in a single breath as he gave what Koga counted as the fourth bow.

Koga exchanged looks with Kyo before they both laughed gently at the excitement Ash carried in his voice. Ash turned to Janine. If possible Ash seemed to build up more energy as he waved at her.

She started walking before she laughed. She burst into a run and gave him a hug. She did not let him go as she asked, 'Ash! You're here! How long do you plan to stay? Just for the battle?'

Ash gave her father an embarrassed smile before he raised his hand. 'Thank you Sir. We'll be back tonight if Psyduck has fully recovered from the effort.'

'I know you will. Say hello to Misty for me.'

Janine was about to pull back to ask what he meant. Ash pulled her tighter to him and she felt her body blush from head to tow.

*snap*

A moment later the world turned into a bubble and spun around her. The world seemed to reshape around her. Ash still held her to keep them both steady. Janine opened her eyes to see a blank eyed Psyduck float right over Ash's shoulder. His wing was resting on the boy's shoulder.

Ash loosened his arms around her and turned to look over his shoulder. 'Thanks Psyduck. Did you want to go into your pokeball?'

Psyduck sank to the floor and his eyes started to blink before the duck pokemon rubbed his eyes sleepily. He nodded.

'Ash where are we?' She pulled her arms lightly around her self. It was far colder than the balmy ridge she lived on.

Ash pulled his pokeball off his belt and looked to her just to grin. He looked at the Pokemon Center and nodded at the accurate teleportation. 'We are in Cerulean. Good job Psyduck.'

Janine started to look around. Now that she had a name to the town, she began to recognize the tell tale signs of the city. The bridges and water ways were the stamp of Cerulean. She turned right before Ash recalled Psyduck. She quickly knelt down and hugged and kissed the pokemon on the forehead. 'Thank you for bring us all the way here Psyduck!' Psyduck gave a pleasant quack before he sleepily turned to Ash. The beam of red light enveloped his body and pulled him into his pokeball.

Ash walked right next to her and started leading the way. He tilted his head at her smile. 'I had to ask permission to bring you along.'

'That was very brave of you Ash.' Janine teased as she they walked inside. 'So what are we doing here?'

'We are meeting some other friends here. I am taking a brief vacation from training before going against your father. The battle with Giovanni really exhausted my pokemon so I have been taking it slow this week.'

'Ash Ketchum is that you?' Ash turned to the nurse station. Ash laughed and waved at the woman.

'Morning Nurse Joy! I'm visiting for a bit.' Ash pulled out a pokeball.

'Psy?' Psyduck landed on the floor next to him. He immediately zoned in on Nurse Joy and quacked happily. He ran up to the woman's desk and took a few tries to physically climb the ledge he was on the desk. He promptly gave the woman a hug. Nurse joy gasped.

'Did you just call me nurse?' She looked over to Ash with a moved look in her eye. Ash gave her a smile but felt his heart clench. She looked at the duck as he kept sending her images and voices.

'Slow down Psyduck, she might get over whelmed.' Ash added. He felt his voice crack slightly but was able to recover. Janine looked at him unsure what caused him to sound odd. Nurse Joy did not notice as Psyduck quacked and waved his arms while trying to calm himself.

Around the duck pokemon's cries of joy, the nurse smiled and looked at him. The first thing she noticed was Psyduck had moved around with no signs of pain. She gave him another hug. 'It's good to see you looking so well Psyduck. I knew you two would figure it out.' Psyduck smiled at her.

Ash leaned into Janine. 'Nurse Joy was taking care of Psyduck before I trained him. He was having trouble with his headaches and was passed around to different experts to try and help him.'

Janine gave an appreciative 'Ah.'

The door opened behind them with a whish. 'You did bring someone.'

Ash turned and waved at Gary. He was happy he had something to distract him. 'Hey Gary, this is Janine.'

Gary walked up to the pair and smiled at them both. He gave the girl a close look. She blushed under the scrutiny before moving behind Ash. 'Gary, I think you are scaring her.'

Gary laughed. 'Nice to meet you Janine. Ash told me a lot about you.'

Janine smiled cautiously. 'He did? Anything I should know?'

Gary turned to Ash. Gary kept his face straight when Ash just gave him an annoyed look. Gary looked back to Janine. 'He missed you.'

Ash kicked his ankle.

Janine smiled and laughed with Gary as he shook his foot.

Ash went back to Nurse Joy and handed Psyduck's ball and Pidgeot over to her. 'He did just do two heavy teleports, can you make sure he gets some rest?' Nurse joy smiled at him and nodded before she turned back to Psyduck. Ash sighed as he looked at his pokeballs. Pidgeot and Psyduck both needed the rest. Ash did wonder if Psyduck would sleep at all since he seemed to spend a lot of energy just waving his hands and quacking at Nurse Joy. But she seemed happy to listen to him.

Ash went into his checked in room and was satisfied to see the double bed apartment. He set his bag down and locked the door behind him. Ash yawned and stretched as he made his way back to the group at the entrance. Psyduck was still next to Nurse Joy who had her full attention on the little pokemon. Ash smiled thinking of the twos reunion. He had not even thought about Nurse joy until she recognized him.

Ash joined his friends. 'Any sign of Misty?' Gary and Janine shook their heads as they started to walked outside.

Ash turned back to Psyduck. 'Psyduck.' Psyduck stopped talking and turned back to him. Ash laughed at the quick response. Even when distracted he listened. 'Make sure you actually rest. Those were very long teleports.' Psyduck nodded enthusiastically.

Ash gave him an exasperated look. He might just have Psyduck sleep through the night instead. 'Thank you for watching him Nurse Joy. We'll be back later.'

'Janine!'

Joy sat at her desk and had her full attention on Psyduck who waved his hands in a circle. She giggled. Ash could hear the voices from outside and decided he should go join them.

'Misty!' Ash left the Pokemon Center in time to watch the girls hug each other. Ash smiled at the group and walked up to Gary.

'I'm amazed I was able to get everyone to come.' Ash said more to himself.

Gary put his hands on his hips and smirked. 'You said you had other friends, I almost didn't believe it. You always were running around on your own in the forest.'

Ash reddened. There were plenty of times where he would attempt to find pokemon in the back woods of Pallet. They were told many times when they were in school that no pokemon would come so close to a settlement. Ash would get teased when he returned empty handed.

Ash looked at the girls fondly. 'I was lucky. Being friends with Misty almost didn't happen. If I just thoughtlessly attempted her gym I am sure Pikachu would have hurt her pokemon and that would have ended that friendship. I met Janine on the road just because I was getting lost on my way to Fuchsia.'

Gary grunted in agreement. 'That's how it was with some of my friends when I was traveling too. But I don't think I really kept in touch like I should have. Now I have a list of contacts on my Pokedex and not really sure who they all are.'

Ash smiled. 'Let's go see what they are talking about. I think they are planning our day for us.' The pair rejoined Janine and Misty outside the Pokemon Center.

-o-

It was a novel experience being around people he knew. Sure Ash had chatted with them individually but it was for no longer than a few hours at a time. And it was rare to ever chat in person. Misty had showed them a few places she liked to go visit and pointed to a park in town where Ash could let his pokemon relax. Ash knew where his pokemon were spending the next day.

The group watched a live performance inside the shopping center. It was too cold to be outside for long. Ash did not really think how cold it had been this far north. It only really registered it was winter when he visited the Indigo Plateau. Ash and Janine took a moment to find a store where they could buy them selves heavier jackets for the visit.

It turned out to be a good idea as evening approached. The town quickly became alight in a soft glow of the winter lights. The group found a garden where the lights made patterns shapes. As they walked in Ash even observed they had shows with certain displays. The first one they found ran through an assortment of colors for a evolution of an bulbasaur who played in snow.

Ash looked over to Janine who animatedly talked to Gary and Misty. Ash found out that day that even with his friends, he did not speak much. Not like had when he was home and had friends in Pallet. Ash thought back to those times and wondered how he so easily talked to everyone. But now he was not sure what to say to his closest friends.

Ash watched as Misty grabbed Gary's arm and refocused on what was going on, but Gary had the same bemused look as Janine grabbed Ash's arm. The two girls pulled them to a larger exhibit. The lights matched a song playing over a loud speaker. The group just watched and enjoyed the show before it repeated the pattern a few times. Beside him, Janine shuddered in the cold and pulled closer to him. Ash looked over to her and the two shared a smile.

Gary cleared his throat. Janine and Ash looked back to their friend. Misty stood next to him and both looked apologetic. 'Hey guys I should be heading back to Pallet Town. I am over due and Gramps just called to ask where I was.'

Ash laughed. 'I guess the pokedex does have a draw back.' The group joined him.

Misty sighed and looked at her watch. 'I should go too. I got an early start tomorrow. My gym is always busy this time of year and today it was closed for my sister's performances. I will need to make sure the gym is ready before I open.'

Janine let go of Ash's arm. She hugged Misty. Janine stepped back and Misty and Ash shared a brief hug. 'I'll come by and visit again.'

Misty laughed. 'You better Mr. Ketchum. You too Gary and Janine. It was good to see you both.' Misty waved and started walking back. Gary patted Ash on the back.

'I guess I get no hug from her.' He smirked at the observation before he shrugged his shoulders and raised his arms in a helpless gesture. 'What can you do? I'll catch you later Ash. You too Janine. Behave!' Gary teased before he walked away.

Janine smiled at their two friends exit. 'Well that seemed to end the night. I guess we should get me back?'

Ash nodded. He turned to look at the exhibit. They had only seen a third of it. 'Or we can stay longer and finish seeing this. I have my pokedex if you want to talk to your father. It still would take a while to get back to the Pokemon Center either way.'

Janine looked longingly at the rest of the park covered in lights. She grinned thinking about how late they could stay up if she was able to stay. 'Give me that pokedex.'

Ash handed it to her and the two shared an excited smile.

-o-

Cassidy looked at the tracking information. She was actually amused at the history Ash's pokedex location gave her. She put down the pokedex and had a nice relaxing tea while she looked out the window. She was perfectly content to observe from a distance. She never had psychic pokemon her self. So she had no idea if teleportation was hard. She thought it would be since it was so rare. But there was Ash's pokedex that showed two time stamp instances where he traveled from near Viridian Forest to Fuschia City then to Cerulean City. She had given her report earlier that day. She was just happy Ash seemed content to stay in Cerulean so she could catch up in her jet.

Cassidy looked at the view again. It was nice. The city below her from her penthouse hotel room gave a nice view of the lit city as well as a solid view of the Pokemon Center. She turned her head slightly to look at her partners for the mission. They were a strange pair. They were definitely foreign pokemon but both were very cute for the kind of pokemon they were.

As if sense her thoughts both pokemon turned to her waiting her orders. She allowed self deprecating chuckle. Of course they could sense her thoughts.

-o-

Ash was sound asleep. He shared his room with Janine who slept in the bed next to his. The clock barely turned past two in the morning. The town was cold this time of year and the windows were fogged. Slowly over the course of the night they had begun to frost.

Ash felt himself turn fitfully in his sleep. He tried to sleep soundly but something was teasing him awake. Ash moaned slightly as he roused from sleep. He sat up and looked around dark room. There was a faint light from outside enough to see the contours of his bed and the table against the window. He exhaled and looked over to Janine who slept peacefully in her bed. Ash got out of bed to use the bathroom and walked up to the window.

The frost started growing across the window in a pattern. Ash exhaled and the window fogged from his breath. It still felt like something was tickling the back of his throat. Like he needed to sneeze. He rubbed his nose and looked at the dark street outside. The weather would start to warm soon. Ash had spent most of the winter on the southern side of the region. He did not really think how cold winter was for everyone else north of Pallet Town.

That itch bugged him. Ash moved his hand to his eye. Maybe it was allergies. That would be nice to see that spring was coming early.

Ash rubbed his eye and went back to bed. Janine wanted to show him a place they had missed with Gary and Misty the day before. Ash looked over to Janine who dozed away contently in her warm blankets. Ash curled up into his and relaxed. He was asleep moments later. But that tingle would occasionally make him stir.

-o-

'Have a good time and behave, alright?' Ash looked at Pikachu and Gengar when he said that. The two cheered an agreement before they all ran off to join the other pokemon at the park. Misty pointed out to them that the park was a good place for pokemon to stretch their legs. Ash would have to thank her. His team needed time to relax after the constant training. The park already had dozens of other pokemon playing.

'Psyduck. I'm leaving you in charge of the food. Snorlax can get a second helping, but only if he asks.' Ash gave Psyduck a wink. The pokemon quacked a laugh before he took the backpack. Ash smiled as Psyduck drew the straps tighter and the backpack rested comfortably on his back. Psyduck had not grown much larger since he joined the team. Ash was reminded of that as the whole of the back pack was almost too large for the Psyduck to carry it on his back. Ash and Janine giggled as he waddled off to catch up to the rest of the pokemon.

'I really hope they come back with your bag and half of your pokemon food rations Ash.' Janine watched the group unsure if they would be responsible enough to be left alone to their own devices. Ash confessed to her just that morning it would be the first time they would be apart from him for so long and out of their pokeballs.

Not missing a beat Ash just muttered. 'I just hope they come back.'

Janine looked at him for a moment before she laughed. She took his arm. 'Let's go Mr. Ketchum I had a few places I wanted to show you that I visited the last time I was in town.'

Janine led Ash through most of the city that morning. The shops were so much different than the ones in Fuchsia. Ash found a shop where a small trinket made of silver was shaped into a Psyduck with a goofy smile. He showed it to Janine who just gave an audible aw.

Ash gave it a closer look and snorted. 'I think this psyduck is way more happy than mine.'

'He does look like he accomplished something big.' Janine agreed as she tilted the silver trinket.

'Hey Janine look at that.' Janine set the Psyduck trinket down and walked over to where Ash was pointing at. It was a necklace with a small star and moon cut made of a single piece of silver. Janine giggled knowing exactly why he pointed out.

'It almost looks just like my picture on your saddle.' Janine traced it with her hand. Ash thought of all the emboss prints on his saddle. He had one for each of his friends. Janine's was made of a circle and a small star to represent the bun she always tied her hair into. Ash gave a side glance to her. Her hair was tied into the same bun now.

'I almost want to get it.'

Janine radiated a smile at him. 'You should get something nice for yourself.'

'You just like the idea that its something that would remind me of you.' Ash added playfully.

'That isn't such a bad thing is it?' She stuck her tongue out at him.

Ash laughed as he waved the clerk down. 'Ash! That is expensive!'

'You sure you don't want me to get you something too?'

Janine just glared at him. 'Now you are just rubbing it in you have money again.'

Ash laughed as he pointed at a necklace that had two small charms on it. Janine looked at it and immediately recognized the symbol for her gym. Right next to it was a small charm for the Pokemon League in a stylized "L". For most people it would just declare support for the Fuchsia City Gym. But Janine blushed. These past few days she saw that "L" more often on top of Ash's head. She gave a muted nodded that she liked it.

Janine and Ash walked out of the shop happy with the two purchases. They had taken a moment to put on their prizes. Ash sighed at the time.

'We are over due to pick up my team. Do you think they wreaked the town yet?'

Janine laughed but shook her head. 'Misty would have sent you a message to your pokedex already if they did.'

Ash smiled. 'Pikachu and Psyduck would have listened to her. And they would have gotten the group under control.'

Gengar came to mind on a particularly vicious pranking spree when Ash was at the Plateau to receive treatment by Agatha. 'For the most part.' He added.

They were half way to the park when Ash moved his hand to his eye. He hissed in pain.

'You alight there Ash?'

Ash simply stood still for a moment until the pain went away. 'Yeah. I think I have some kind of allergy or something. Ever since we got to town I have had a head ache.'

Janine looked at him and frowned when she looked at the road. The weather was still cold and there was no wind or pollen. Maybe they had dragged it from Fuchsia when they teleported?

Janine was about to apologize and suggest maybe it was from her town. She stopped her self at the pale ashen look the boy had on his face.

Ash felt this before but it was never so faint. Ash turned his head slowly. The world felt like it had ballooned around him. He finally felt it and knew where he had to go. 'Sorry Janine. We have to go this way.' Ash took her hand and started walking.

Janine looked at him. The normal thrill and energy she had left her. Ash's hand was clammy cold. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back as the pair weaved through people. At random intervals Ash would pause and look around before he switched directions. Janine wanted to ask what was going on. But Ash looked more frightened when he started to move faster. The last city block was almost in a dead run before Ash and Janine slowed and caught their breath.

Ash's breath came out in cold puffs of air. A small cafe he stared at had started to serve lunch and early dinner with an open patio deck. What drew Janine's attention was the lone teenager with white hair who sat on the deck chair calmly drinking tea while he ignored the the cold winter air.

Ash's hand trembled in Janine's. But he could not stop the joy that came to his voice. 'You are OK! How can I -? I don't-'

The other teenager set down his tea and gave Ash a steady look before he gestured for the two to take a seat. Ash pulled out two chairs from the stack that had been put away for the season. Janine tucked the hem of her coat under her legs before taking a seat. Ash sank into his chair.

Ash just started at him and he turned to share his excitement with her. But she just looked confused. Ash turned back to the young man. 'Please include her too. She is a good friend and has my trust.'

The teen smiled at Janine.

 _Very well Ash._ Janine gasped. It was her turn to take back Ash's hand.

'How is he doing that?' Janine whispered.

 _Lady, My name is Mewtwo. I had just been reacquainting my self with Ash._ Mewtwo turned to look back to Ash. _Ash, I_ _ **am**_ _sorry. It took me a long time to really grasp the things you taught me. It took even longer for me to understand what I did to you and Psyduck. I had no idea that I would leave such an impression on you both._ Mewtwo tilted his head. Ash flinched and gripped his forehead in pain. _The imprint is heavy. I would need a lot of time to remove it_.

Ash nodded slowly. _Janine,_ Ash turned to Janine who gave another intake of breath. Ash's eyes glowed slightly with purple energy. Janine looked over to the young man named Mewtwo. His eyes took a deep purple color that matched Ash's. Ash gently ran his thumb over the back of her hand. The warmth had returned to his hand and it comforted her. _Psyduck and I freed Mewtwo from a laboratory. He chose to go explore the world on his own._ Ash looked back to Mewtwo. _Something went wrong. Didn't it?'_

Mewtwo smiled. It's physical voice gave a faint low 'Mew.' _My creators have searched for me. They had nearly found me for the first two days before I was able to fully pull my self in. It took me days to master your first lesson._ Ash smiled at the information. He was relieved that he was able to help.

Mew looked at them both and Ash could feel the exasperation in the voice. _Ash there is so much I want to speak to you about. But I could not approach you for a long time. The people who surround you would not allow it. And now there is one that observes you._

Ash exchanged looks with Janine. Neither of them noticed he had been followed. _You think they are trying to find you through me?_

Mew took a sip from his tea before he gave a slight nod. _I believe so. There is another reason why I was unable to approach you. The energy you are carrying with you. It makes it difficult for me to reach you over long distances. I had to wait until you were apart from it for a sufficient amount of time before I could approach you._

Ash thought of the small statute that he carried with him. Gengar had stopped the treatments since their gym fight with Giovanni. But that did not mean he parted with the small shrine. _I'll return the statute to its home soon._

Mewtwo smiled. _I have to go. I had to release energy to reach you. I'll explain more soon. But the one that follows you is approaching. I'll find you as soon as you return the statue to its home._

Mew looked to Janine. _Your friend is special Janine. Please watch over him._ Mew stood up left some money for his tea and left. Ash wanted to go after him but resisted. He had to think of a few things to do if he wanted to make another meeting with Mewtwo happen.

'Janine?'

Janine blinked out of her daze watching the young man leave. 'I'll explain everything when we get my pokemon and we are back at the Center. I promise. But I think we should go get Misty too. She was there for all of this. She deserves to know too.'

Janine squeezed his hand and leaned against his shoulder. 'Of course. I am not in any rush to head back home.'

Ash allowed some of his humor to come back. 'I do, Koga may already be upset I kept you here for an extra day, much less two.'

-o-

Mewtwo watched the two children walk away. When they were out of sight he exhaled a sigh. He turned his head and looked over to the roof several blocks down. In a flash, he stood in front of the woman who had been following the children. The woman was frozen by his powers with a faint glow of violet light. Mewtwo spared a moment to consider the human in front of him. She had followed Ash for some distance. This was the first time he saw her come so close to the boy.

Mewtwo simply waved his hand in front her. Her eyes rolled back and her body convulsed as Mewtwo re-wrote her memories. Finally nodding at his work, Mewtwo closed his eyes and searched for others near by. Mewtwo knew he still left minor imprints on his targets. It was actually how he was aware of Ash's predicament. At least this one was tracking Ash, not himself.

Mewtwo waited for the woman to stir before he allowed her body to relax and lay softly on the snowy roof. She rolled her head and tried to look around under a heavy mental strain and exhaustion. Mewtwo began to fade into light before disappearing all together.

The woman groaned silently to her self but sat still. She her mind was very disorientated.

Two pokemon jumped up to the roof inspected the woman with their noses. The black pokemon had gold rings around its body. The violet pokemon looked around with blank eyes. When both pokemon were sure that the man that assaulted the woman was gone, they barked at their trainer. Cassidy climbed up the fire escape ladder and spotted the two pokemon a distance from where she got on the roof. She walked over to the two pokemon.

'Good job Espeon, Umbreon. Keep the field up. I just want to take a look before we pull back.' Cassidy had a good idea who this woman was, but it was better to be sure. Cassidy found the woman's ID and Kanto Home Security badge. She cursed but thought back to the teenager with white hair. 'Umbreon, any sign of him now?'

The black pokemon closer her eyes and tilted her head back and forth until she shook her head. The Umbreon barked a negative.

Cassidy checked the woman. She was barely lucid. She clutched her head and moaned. Cassidy called the two pokemon to her. 'The woman likely encountered him. Umbreon, Espeon see if you can learn to find his scent and energy.'

The two pokemon crowded around the woman sniffing and probing the woman with energy pulses. Umbreon growled and yipped. She found something. Cassidy looked over to Espeon. The psychic pokemon shook his head. His ears went low on his head.

'It's fine. We found more than what we had anticipated very quickly. Your master should be pleased.' That cheered the two pokemon up.

Cassidy saw the woman was still pitifully moaning. Cassidy scratched her head before she sighed in annoyance. She never liked playing the good guy but leaving the woman here begged for the woman to start trying to remember things Mewtwo removed. 'Lift her up and lets get her off the roof. We'll just leave her some place she won't freeze while she comes to.'

Cassidy was satisfied with where she set the woman down. It was a hidden away court yard. It had a canopy to protect the yard from snow.

'Espeon can you reinforce her memory of stopping to get lunch after loosing track of time?' Espeon nodded and entered the woman's mind. Espeon gently placed the idea of sleep and food to the forefront of the womans mind. The psychic pokemon pulled back and yipped she finished.

Cassidy nodded satisfied and she turned to walk back to the hotel. Everything else was set up. Umbreon and Espeon followed a ways behind the women. Umbreon pushed more energy to surround the group before Espeon did the same. The two pokemon faded into near invisible waves of light. Their job was to protect with out being seen.

-o-

Ash had called Misty. 'Misty come over to the Center as soon as you can. I found our friend from the trip to Cinnabar.' Misty looked at him confused before she nodded and left the screen leaving the communication channel still open. Ash looked up to the park as the pair closed off the communication from the pokedex. Psyduck knew right away that Ash had encountered Mewtwo. He jumped up and down on Ash's leg and nearly pulled Ash's belt off in excitement.

'I know Psyduck. Hopefully we can fix this. But we need to make a few trips first before we can really start to meet him again.' Psyduck nodded eagerly and clicked his pokeball to be sucked in.

Janine and Ash repressed a laugh at the small pokemon's joy. The rest of the team seemed to realize something happened. 'We'll talk guys. But it's not safe to talk here.'

Ash recalled the rest of his pokemon. The trip back to the Pokemon Center was quiet. Janine kept her thoughts to her self. But she was curious about the story behind the Mew guy. She had met psychics before. But some of the things they referenced didn't add up.

'Misty!' Ash called as they entered the Center.

'Let's go to your room.' She said quickly. Janine started to get more nervous at Misty's serious glance at the two of them. Misty did not spare them a playful and teasing glance.

As soon as the door closed Ash released his pokemon with the exception of Snorlax. Ash lifted his ball to talk to him. 'Sorry Snorlax you are just too large for this small room.' Ash set his ball down on the bed but still surrounded by the team. 'Psyduck can you relay everything to him even in his pokeball he may miss?'

Psyduck nodded eagerly.

Ash sat on Janine's bed and looked at both girls. Misty leaned against the dresser drawer. Janine took the seat next to him.

'Misty I met Mewtwo. He was here in town disguised as a human.'

Misty raised an eyebrow but nodded. 'So he is doing alright?'

Ash shook his head. 'Not too well from what he told us.' Ash looked to Janine. He took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. Both girls recognized it as a nervous gesture. 'Janine I am sorry for leaving you out of the loop today. But we could not afford to say anything out loud now that Mewtwo said someone was following us.'

Ash started explaining to Janine everything about tracking a psychic pokemon and finding a facility. He shared his belief that Giovanni was some how connected. Misty added some information Ash never could confirm himself. The facility was a Kanto Government run facility and legal.

Ash paused at that but slowly continue to explain how he had lost the link to Psyduck and why he was so frightened he felt something for the first time in over a month.

'So what do we do now Ash?' Misty looked at Ash unsure what to do with the information.

Ash patted Psyduck and looked at the rest of his team. 'We'll first need to return the statute I had been using to dampen the imprint Mewtwo left on me. I kept the statue for Gengar to try and siphon the energy out. But it was a slim hope before we met Mewtwo today. I expected to keep the statue with me all the time. Thankfully that does not seem to be the case.'

Janine hummed at all the information. 'So we are all going to drop this off where you got it?'

Ash shook his head. He looked to Misty. 'Misty still has a job to do. I just wanted to make sure you knew what was going on. Then I am going to have Pidgeot and Psyduck move us around before we try and let Mewtwo find us. If someone is really following us. I want to make sure they are having a hard time just locating us before I speak to him again.'

Misty sighed in disappointment. 'I wish I could go Ash. But you are right. I have to attend to the gym first. I wouldn't even be able to follow you any way. Pidgeot is not large enough for three people and Sabrina educated me enough about psychic pokemon that teleport can burn through energy fast.'

'Thanks for understanding Misty. When I get a chance and you want to speak with him I'll see what I can do.'

Misty gave an pointed look. 'No rush Ash. I am just happy he is OK. Try not to get caught. You can still be arrested if you are found hiding him.'

'So what about me?' Janine watched the exchange uneasily.

Ash looked to her. 'Janine what I am going to do is boarder line illegal. I am suspected of being the one that released Mewtwo. Really I just asked him what he was going to do. But if the government doesn't see it that way I can be arrested. If it was not for the imprint on both Psyduck's and my mind. We would have just been content to keep Mewtwo's secret and be happy he was healthy and safe. But I need to make it easy for him to find us if we want a chance to get healed.'

Ash looked at the girl. 'Do you want to go home or go with me?'

Misty glared at him. 'Ash! No offense Janine. But you should not get involved. What he is going to do is dangerous.'

Janine looked at her friends and swallowed. She took both of their hands. 'I want to be there for you guys. You are my friends.'

Misty gave an annoyed growl before her glare softened into an understanding smile. Ash gave both of the girls a thankful look.

'Thank you Janine.'

-o-

Cassidy leaned back in her chair. She was happy she had recorded it all. There was so much information in that short conversation. Giovanni had expressed a personal interest in the boy. This would not bode well if the boy stood in the way of Giovanni's freedom from that military contract.

She would give all the information to him but she thought she should suggest a few ideas. She listened to the recordings and made a few mental notes. When she was ready she checked out of the hotel and took her jet back to Rocket Headquarters.

The trip only lasted thirty minutes but it took longer to just get out of the jet. Giovanni walked into his office and looked at her expectantly. She placed the pokedex on the table.

'I have confirmed what you thought Giovanni. There is a reason why the boy and his Psyduck were not showing signs of psychic powers.' Giovanni frowned as he picked up the pokedex readings.

Cassidy belatedly stood at attention. 'Sir, I request that we find an alternative way to find Mewtwo with out using the boy. The Pokemon League already are aware of the boy's affliction. In their eyes the boys actions saved the region. Involving the boy will involve the League.'

Giovanni nodded as he listened to the recording. 'This is just one lead to Mewtwo.' Giovanni sat in his chair quietly. He leaned back in his chair. Cassidy felt awkward at her at-attention and relaxed her stance.

Finally Giovanni looked back to the woman. 'I could use this information to turn the League and Home Security against each other... But I found a better option that keeps Viridian Works in one piece and a presence in Viridian City.'

Giovanni set down the pokedex and folded his hands in front of him. 'Good job Cassidy. Your job is complete. How were they?' Giovanni asked as Cassidy handed back the pokemon.

'Very well trained and very independent. They are a good pair, but it felt weird to see pokemon I work with be so independent. I did not give them any real information but they knew what to do.'

Giovanni looked to Persian who watched the conversation with interest. Giovanni smiled and shook his head in amusement at Persians sudden interest. 'That is another reason I wanted you to keep your distance from Ash. I am confident the boy does not realize how he has trained his pokemon. Soon they will be as independent as these two. While we can likely predict what Ash would do if you are discovered, the same could not be said regarding his pokemon. It's quite scary to think about that much power with so much free will.' Giovanni laughed at the idea before he looked over to Cassidy's bemused look.

'Get Butch. I have another assignment for you both. My lawyers have found a loop hole that will work to break free of the contract but we will have to loose face. It is no matter, I no longer care about Rocket's foot hold here in Kanto.'

Giovanni looked at the map to his left. It had pegs that covered Kanto, Hoenn and Johto.

A/N: This was done well before new years but I could not get any internet to post it, I still don't have any, so I'm using my phone to update this!

Thanks everyone for the reviews again. I'm currently banging my head against chapter 16. We'll see what this looks like next week when I have more time now that I am done with my move. Till later.


	15. Chapter 15: With out a trainer

Chapter 15

Janine knelt next to Psyduck in the predawn hours of the day. Everyone would have a long day but Psyduck would have the hardest time. Each teleport would exhaust him, and he had to do a few before he could meet back with Ash.

Janine tightened the backpack around the bird. Ash was amused that Psyduck had taken a liking to the backpack he had rode in months before. Ash could appreciate Psyduck always thought of it as his personal home even before they lost their connection. Janine just wanted to make sure Psyduck didn't loose it when he teleported back and forth. She checked the straps one more time before she patted the duck's head. The little guy had a lot of faith that rode on just the assumption this would work out for him.

She folded the note and placed it on the top pouch of the backpack. 'You sure you are ready Psyduck?'

Psyduck quacked eagerly and nodded. 'Alright let me get Ash and you can go.'

Janine stood up and walked outside and pulled Ash back in. Ash pulled off his hood and his scarf. 'Good luck Psyduck. If I was able to get picked up right away hopefully he is looking for you too. If you can't find anything by the end of today, head back to Koga's gym and give him the letter that we are flying back and want to take a detour.' Ash pulled out another piece of paper off the desk and wrote a quick note to Koga with an apology.

Psyduck quacked and went to hug them both. Ash gave his partner a warm hug before they all stood back and Psyduck disappeared in a blink of light.

Ash sighed. 'I hope this works out.'

Janine patted his back. 'Let's get on the road. It's still early and we still have to make sure we know where we are going.'

-o-

Ash packed the Pidgeot's saddles in the early morning. The crisp air bit at Ash's cheeks while he double checked that everything was secure. Janine came out of the pokemon center. Her heavy jacket and hood made her look larger than she expected and she had just sighed at her reflection once the glass doors to the center closed.

'Everything is ready Janine.' Ash looked at her and frowned. He pulled off his hood and untied his scarf. He wrapped it around her neck and raised back the hood. 'We are going to be flying past mount moon. It will be colder there.'

He reminded her as she grimaced at the checkered scarf that wrapped around her neck. Ash gave her a pair of goggles. Ash gave a pause and looked over to Pidgeot. He wore the extra safety equipment for the first time in months. Pidgeot moved his wings around and tail to get used to it. Ash smiled at the effort.

'Janine how is your harness?' Ash asked absentmindedly.

Janine sighed in frustration. 'It feels tight and I fell like I am hunched over in it.' Ash laughed.

'You'll understand once we get going. At least you have goggles and something to breath into. I was just in a harness and a t-shirt with no other protective gear the first time I flew. And that Pidgeot traveled way faster than what mine can travel.'

Pidgeot squawked in protest. Ash laughed. 'We'll test that theory Pidgeot eventually. But you are also carrying two people. Think of it as a handicap.' That placated the bird.

'So am I getting on first?' Janine asked. She felt that neither of them would fit on the saddle both clothed in so many layers

'No, for this one I am going first. We will be traveling fast to get above the storm clouds. It's just too bad Psyduck is not strong enough to teleport us. Not with that amount of concentrated dark energy.'

'At the very least maybe he will have better luck. Who knows? Maybe by the time we all get back to my father's gym he would at least have his problem solved.'

Janine waited and watched as Ash mounted the saddle and placed several hooks onto the saddle to secure himself higher than he normally would have rested on the bird. Janine got on the saddle and pulled three hooks out of her harness from under her jacket. The first two clipped onto the saddle on either side of Pidgeot's harness. The third clipped behind her. She had never felt her self so snug against the saddle before. Janine could not really move and it reminded her how uncomfortable she was with so many layers of clothing when it was only mildly cold in Cerulean. She leaned into Ash's back and talked into his ear. 'It makes you wonder how Will could do it so easily. You said he teleported you all with out touching either of you?'

'Yeah. After thinking about it days later, he has to be a much stronger psychic than even Sabrina. He must have created a massive bubble that just enveloped the whole space, not just us three individually.'

Janine thought of the tilting motion of her last teleport Psyduck performed on them. She shook her head to clear out those thoughts and moved her arms around Ash's torso. She gave a disappointed grunt that she could not feel anything beyond the sleeves of her jacket. But the comfort was still there as he leaned slightly against her.

'I want this to be a quick trip. Pidgeot get above the clouds and fly to the mountain range. Feel for the reigns I won't be able to talk to you while we are that high up.' Ash pulled his goggles over his eyes.

Pidgeot cawed and spread his wings. Janine felt her stomach leave her as the three accelerated to the sky above the snow clouds. Ash and Janine seemed to only blink their eyes before they had a chance to look down at the expansive city of Cerulean. It soon was no more than a dot among the water ways. The wind buffet the group while Pidgeot fought against the air currents. Finally they broke through some kind of barrier and Pidgeot glided above the clouds.

Ash and Janine both gave a sound of awe. It was unfortunate neither could hear the other. But they could feel each others excitement. Janine would hug him tightly and scream some words that were not even audible over the sound of the wind. Ash would turn to see what she saw and would squeeze her arms with one of his. He would occasionally try and yell back. Their chatter was never successful. Not when it was immediately lost in the wind.

This high up, it was hard to judge time and distance. Eventually Ash found what he was looking for.

 _There it is_. Ash thought to himself. The mountain range that was the base of mount moon. Ash guided Pidgeot the way around to the northern face. The coordinates Agatha gave him pointed specifically for a flat surface on the northern side of the range near a four peak range. The clouds around the mountain were wispy and thin. Ash was thankful for the goggles. They tinted as the sky line got brighter. The reflection and the amount of white snow would have made him disoriented with out them.

Janine leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. He held her arms close to his abdomen and held her arms there. The distance was farther than he had expected. He was unsure if it was the distance or if Pidgeot was flying slower than they had anticipated. Ash thought back to leaving Cerulean. It was probably the distance. The city disappeared quickly when they had taken off.

The short mountain range seemed to hook out from the main range of mount moon. Ash held both hands to the reigns and leaned forward. Janine huddled closer as they prepared to go back below the air currents. Ash never did learn any of the important information about how wind effect flying type pokemon. But he felt the turbulence that they had to fly through when they went above a level of air to fly fast. It always made him nervous to go back below it to slow down and have a more controlled flight.

The group felt the wind shake them. Ash could feel the pull of the harness keeping him secure. 'Hang in there Pidgeot we are almost there!' Ash knew his voice would be lost to the wind but he had to try and calm them all. He could feel the tension in Pidgeot's body.

Ash decided he should learn more about flying pokemon when they got back. Pidgeot screeched a victory call as they broke back below the fast moving winds and were again in a much more controlled slow flight. Ash patted the birds' neck in support.

Ash looked around and started to guide the group around the range. Ash did not realize how close the mountains were to each other. The peaks seemed to mold into a single spike ridge that spanned half a mile.

Ash found it far lower than the map described it. Then he realized why. The flat level ground he was looking for started at a mouth of a cave. Mist was the only real thing he remembered from his first visit. It did not occur to him the mist was actually clouds that flowed into the mouth of a cave.

The group landed with Pidgeot allowing himself to just relax and breath while Janine and Ash got off. Ash checked to make sure Janine was alright before he turned to Pidgeot. The bird looked exhausted. He panted heavily and his feathers were covered in a fine frost. Ash went to work to wiping down the dust with his gloved hands.

'Good job Pidgeot. You will not need to fly us all the way back. If we can get to the base of the mountain when we are done, we can rest at the pokemon center.' Pidgeot nodded gratefully before he was turned into red energy and recalled into his pokeball. Ash envied the pokemon. Pidgeot would be warmer than they would be.

Ash looked over to Janine. The girl had bravely entered the cave and was looking at the cave mouth. She had lowered her hood and loosened her scarf that covered her face now that she was protected by the wind and snow. She giggled and played in the clouds still flowed into the cave mouth on a slight current.

Ash raised his goggles and tightened his scarf around his neck instead of his face. 'Sorry about how long that took.' Janine smiled at him through her goggles. She began to raise them on her forehead but kept her scarf over her mouth. Ash released Gengar. 'Welcome back home Gengar. Think you can guide us back to the mausoleum so we can return the statue?'

Gengar nodded before he promptly started moving ahead of the group. Ash followed but began to look around as well. The mist was still heavy in the cave but the ceiling, now that he knew what saw, was still pretty bright. He raised a flash light and saw that the cave roof only covered half of the entrance. Snow and light filtered in from one side of the cave. The cave opened to the sky a short distance away. Ash used his flash light to follow the line of the opening to realize that the hole above them opened to an even larger cave entrance on the side of the mountain. He whistled at the formation before he started moving again to catch up to Janine and Gengar.

Gengar took them across the same field that Ash recognized from his first visit. Ash began to walk with more confidence now that the place was beginning to seem more familiar.

'Gengar this looks like where Will took us the first time. I never noticed it was a cave. It kinda gives me a headache thinking about how this place was created in the first place.'

Ash turned to Janine. 'Agatha said this place is ancient. Older than the third generation, ancient.'

Janine started looking around with that bit of information to swallow. 'I didn't think anything survived to be that old. How did they even know it is that old?'

Ash shrugged his shoulders. 'I couldn't even begin to tell you. I am just going off of what Agatha said. But there were a few other observations she made that would make sense.' Ash looked over to Gengar who happily lead the group as if he was the lead of a parade. Ash remembered a few of the old videos clips of returning heroes. Gengar really reminded him of those video clips. He laughed slightly and shared his thoughts with Janine who giggled with him.

The clouds seemed to get more dense the further they went into the cave. Ash felt uneasy. 'Gengar, does this place feel like it does not want us to be here to you?'

Gengar nodded. 'GarGar!'

Ash exhaled the tension in his body. The back mass of energy was covering the entrance in a haze. Ash could easily have mistaken it for fog had he not been watchful. Ash was not sure what to do about it.

Janine trailed behind slightly as Gengar and Ash started chatting. She took the time to look around the cave. The wind was keeping the clouds thin and she could see the mausoleum ahead of them. It was a massive building carved into the face of the cave wall. It looked like trees had been planted and grew in rows to welcome guests at one time. Now there were only frozen trees that some how still lived but never grew.

Janine poked one out of curiosity. It was definitely some kind of frozen tree. She let her curiosity of the still living plant go.

Ash saw her wander around and repressed a smile. He looked back up to the building. He bowed. 'I've returned as promised. I want to return what I had taken.' Ash took out the statute.

The forboding atmosphere Ash and Gengar felt lessened. The haze faded away from the entrance but Ash could feel the hairs raise on the back of his neck. The ghost pokemon were watching them. Gengar bowed with Ash one more time. 'Thank you.' Ash turned to Janine who saw the pair bow and joined them.

'Janine come on, let's return this and go back.'

Ash soon found he could loosen a few layers of clothing when they entered the cave after landing. Inside the mausoleum both children felt they wanted to remove a few more layers. It was warmer than they thought. Ash took of his gloves and touched the ground.

'It's warm. Maybe this is a dormant volcano?'

Janine gave a, 'Huh.'

Gengar waved at them ahead of the group. He laughed as he danced into the walls and fell out of the ceiling to encourage them to follow. Janine smiled and walked faster.

On the final floor Ash found the room. The shadows began to break down the light from his flash light. The room got darker the closer they came to the altar. Janine moved closer to him. 'Gengar can you push them back so we can move past?'

Gengar chattered to himself before he gathered dark energy in his hands. He pushed it away and in front of him. The flash light began to emit light again. Ash and Janine sighed in relief at seeing the altar again. Ash rested the statute on the altar and bowed. Janine followed his lead.

'Thank you for allowing me to have this aid me. I am truly thankful for your help.' The shadows heavy shadows began to pull away and fall into normal shades of light. Janine exhaled a sigh of relief.

Ash gave one last bow before he turned to his friends. 'Thanks for guiding us Gengar, lets go.'

The walk out was quicker than the walk in. Janine had no idea they had walked so slowly into the mausoleum. Ash smiled at Gengar and recalled him. The group started securing their gear. Janine gave Ash a nod to say she was ready. Ash released Pidgeot just at the mouth of the cave to give the bird some shelter to stretch his wings.

Around his mouth covering, Ash called, 'Just a short flight I promise. We just need to get back to Pewter and you can rest in a recovery unit.' Pidgeot cawed before he lowered his back. Ash and Janine mounted his back and the group took to the air. Ash could see the second cave entrance now that he knew what he was looking for. It faced a second mountain in the range. With so much white Ash could easily mistaken it for a contour of a ridge. Ash looked away and directed Pidgeot lower across the range around Mount Moon. The wind made it difficult to follow closely so the group had to fly wider than Ash anticipated. Finally after an hour of flying around the mountain and around the invisible air currents that ran off it, they found Pewter City buried in a mass of snow.

Ash laughed at the site. He was not paying much attention to the town when they flew past it on their way to Pallet. Really the idea of going home excited him too much and they had flown high in the sky for most of the way. Flying closer to the ground Ash could make out the snow covered buildings and shoveled narrow ways.

Ash landed Pidgeot in front of the pokemon center. Janine hopped off and jumped lightly on the ground to keep her body warm.

'That was so much colder when we are flying below the clouds!'

Ash laughed. He quickly took off Pidgeot's saddle and recalled him for a long over night rest. Ash had never actually stayed in this pokemon center. He checked himself and Janine into a two bedroom apartment for the night. Janine had run ahead to get out of the layers of clothing. Some of it began to melt in the warmth of the Center and was soaking through. Ash checked in Pidgeot to rest and released the rest of his team out of their ball and into the snow.

Ash took a side glance to Pikachu and Gengar who began throwing balls of snow at each other. Ash sighed at how small his team felt when everyone was not together.

-o-

Psyduck found a comfortable spot on the southern end of Kanto. It was warmer here and the wide open fields made him more relaxed. He sat down to gather his mind and began to hum to himself. Slowly he nodded his head to a rhythm as he expanded his mind. His eyes roved over the country side in moments. Just like he had done before Ash trained him. Psyduck marveled at the difference what just under a year can make. Where he used to loose himself to the world, now he found he could not consciously relax the same way.

Psyduck opened his eyes and refocused in what was in front of him. Mewtwo in is full original form looked at the little duck pokemon with an amused smile.

 _Good morning Psyduck._ The power of the voice in Psyduck's mind made his feathers fluff.

'Psy!' Psyduck cried eagerly. The duck pokemon got on his feet and looked up admiringly at Mewtwo.

 _I know._ Mewtwo sat in front of Psyduck and extended his hand. _This will take some time. Please look for people who may come looking for me. I will not be able to split my attention while I recall all of the energy I let escape into you._ After a pause Mewtwo looked at Psyduck's face. Mewtwo could feel Psyduck's excitement. _I am not sure if this will be painful or not so brace your self._

Mewtwo looked at Psyduck's forehead and instantly he was in the smaller pokemon's mind. Psyduck recognized the trance Mewtwo entered into. It was one Psyduck had used to look for Ash when he trained. It was a blank stare that focused on the mind's eye. Psyduck smiled to himself content to feel the gentle brush's of Mewtwo's mind against his.

Hours passed for Psyduck while Mewtwo stood there.

Deep in Mew two's and Psyduck's mind, Mewtwo moved past the memories and found the source of Psyduck's discomfort. The energy was the original raw mental energy of Mew two's untrained mind. The original anchor Psyduck used to desperately try and communicate with him.

Mewtwo repressed the emotions that swallowed him. Psyduck's fear, his anxiety, his courage and temptation all surrounded the anchor. The energy was jagged and confused. It would spike and try hold itself tighter into Psyduck's mind. Mewtwo probed around the anchor. It recognized it self more a part of Psyduck now, more than Mewtwo.

Mewtwo distractedly traced a finger across Psyduck's head. His violet glowing eyes circled around a part of the mind to protect the rest of Psyduck. Mewtwo tried again. This time the anchor of energy had only secured itself to unstable fragments of energy.

Mewtwo felt Psyduck's mental discipline. He touched the anchor and memories of the last few weeks flashed in Mew two's mind. He relived the moments of Ash's training and pain he shared with Psyduck. Mewtwo felt Psyduck's resolve and effort to not be tempted by the power that laid in his head.

Mewtwo relived the brief moments Psyduck would be bothered by the power that stirred him awake. And the times Psyduck would desperately wish he could reach out to the power and win. The flash of a painful impact slammed into Mew two's mind from the last gym battle Psyduck fought in.

 _Finally._

Mewtwo felt the anchor begin to fade into his hands. The raw power scrapped and spiked pain into his mind for a moment before it slowly calmed into Mew two's own mental discipline tempered by Ash's direction and the new memories of Ash and Psyduck's own training.

Mewtwo looked out of his mind when he was satisfied with the new energy in his body. He looked at Psyduck to see the little pokemon dance and float in the air in a cheer.

 _I have no words to express my thoughts on your mental discipline Psyduck._ Mewtwo looked at the joy filled Psyduck. The mental anchor must have been painful and tempting to reach for. Like an itch that would create an addiction.

Psyduck for the first time responded back. _Thanks! I. miss. trainer._

Mewtwo sighed. _That will come with time. When it is safe-_

Psyduck and Mewtwo looked to the east and felt it. The jets were so close to them. After a moment Mewtwo knew how they were able to come so close with out being detected. _They are using pokemon that reflect and absorb psychic energy. Very smart._ Mewtwo turned to them before Psyduck tapped his leg.

 _Hide!_ Psyduck called with a panic. Psyduck started showing abstract images of Mewtwo not here, and far away. Another image of Psyduck alone in front of the strangers to show it was not Mewtwo.

Mewtwo looked at the pokemon. _Thank you Psyduck_. Mewtwo turned into a shade of violet before he blinked into a teleport.

Psyduck sighed. He zipped open his backpack just in case. Psyduck sat on his rear and started to hum to himself. His powers flooded his mind. The action was pain free for the first time in what seemed like ages. His mind felt strong. _So_ strong. He had felt Mew two's power and he understood that was how these people were looking for Mewtwo. Psyduck squeezed his eyes shut as he allowed his energy to envelope him.

Psyduck began to sway back and forth while humming. The energy condensed on it self.

Mew two's power was heavy.

The aura around Psyduck began to bend light in a sphere around him.

Mew two's power was hot.

Psyduck opened his eyes and relaxed. He knew what to do.

Mewtwo's power was focused.

Violet energy erupted around Psyduck and he stood up. The five aircraft that approached the field slowed and surrounded the pokemon. Psyduck looked around at the jets and saw the insignia Lieutenant Surge wore on his uniform. Psyduck looked around with an audible, 'Duck?'

There were murmur from the soldiers that surrounded the pokemon. But none of the hovering jets landed. Psyduck just waited to see what they would do.

Two people landed and approached Psyduck cautiously. One reached out with a hand and projected their mind. _Are you Mewtwo?_

Psyduck looked blankly at them as he felt their minds touch his. He repelled them and looked at them curiously. He relaxed his power and the violet energy disappeared from around him. Psyduck relaxed his mind and gave an abstract image of him touching purple power.

One of the agents touched his communicator. 'It's a pokemon who felt Mewtwo's power. He was trying to emulate it.'

The communicator blipped back. 'Is it an abandoned pokemon?'

'Unknown sir, it is trained. There is no sign of a trainer. We could assume that it was a run away.' There was a murmur Psyduck could not understand but he felt the emotions from the two psychic people on the ground. They were angry. Psyduck looked at the jets that hovered above him. There were many minds that were pokemon and human.

'Psyduck would you please come with us for while? We just want to see how you are doing that.'

Psyduck tilted his head and sighed. He shook his head and quacked as if talking to a small child.

Several other people jumped out of the hovering aircraft and landed with pokemon at the ready. Psyduck did not recognize a few of the other pokemon, but half of them were psychic. He could feel those ones with no problem.

But the others..

They felt like trainer does... A black void.

Psyduck turned back to the two psychics. _No, trainer. Is. Waiting._

Psyduck turned prepared to teleport before the world shook and he gasped in pain. He looked over to a small pokemon with gems for eyes. It absorbed his psychic energy. Psyduck glared at them all. He remembered how Mewtwo did it and connected to every mind.

 _Only. Warning. Leave alone._

Psyduck made to move to teleport again but was stopped. This time by another pokemon who was on all four feet and covered with a thick black coat and gold rings around its body.

A pokemon ranger approached the group. He released a pink pokemon that announced it self with a 'Wiggly!'

When the ranger looked at the small duck, he apologized, 'Sorry little one, but we can not allow you to leave until we have some answers.'

Psyduck waited for someone to move. There was a bark of an order over the communicator and the two psychic humans reluctantly ordered their pokemon to advance. Psyduck looked at the two pokemon. In a single surge of water and physic energy. He shot a lance of water at one and the other crumpled in pain from a confusion attack.

That was all the others were waiting for to start their own attack. Psyduck floated into the air in time for the attacks to miss. A spike of Psychic energy moved in a wave beneath two pokemon and knocked them back with out hurting them. Psyduck realized quickly that the dark ones were blocking his psychic powers in their direction. He turned and launched a wave of water at one of them before he floated in to the air and spun. Psyduck opened his mouth and condensed his psychic energy into pure energy. He quickly produced wave after wave of stars that spun away from him into the surrounding pokemon. Several pokemon were hit and cried in pain. One aircraft landed and several men came out with more of the dark pokemon. They had started to focus on Psyduck's mind.

Psyduck grunted. He knew he was in trouble and raised a feathered wing and a pokeball that sat safely in his backpack flew into the air.

The earth cracked when Snorlax landed on the ground. He growled a fierce, 'Snor.'

'Psy-duck.' Psyduck called. Snorlax raised his fists and slammed them into earth. The cracks fanned out around them giving the other pokemon loose footing. Psyduck floated above Snorlax head and spun around using the swift attack to launch the upturned boulders at their attackers. As they regrouped Psyduck quacked at Snorlax. Psyduck went to work attacking and breaking the formation of the non-dark pokemon while Snorlax focused on the ones Psyduck could not damage.

A large Rhydon landed from high in the air from one of the air craft and pushed Snorlax back to the center of a ring formed from their craters. Psyduck moved to hovered over Snorlax and exhaled a torrent of water to knock the Rhydon back. Snorlax followed up with a focus punched that knocked the pokemon out.

'Whoa, whoa whoa! Captain, call them off, these pokemon are too coordinated and trained. Not to mention one pokemon came from a pokeball. They are trainer owned!' There was no response. Everyone was too preoccupied to dodge or risk falling into the cracks of earth below them. Water began to seep into the cracks. The ranger grunted as he tried to pull him self free of the mud filled cracks of earth. 'Wigglytuff sing.' The pokemon began to sing.

Snorlax clapped his hands together just as they began to glow blue. He knelt to touch the ground. The earth froze in waves of cold air. The water froze quickly. The cracks shifted apart breaking into slabs of rock. The ranger and his pokemon were pushed away from the group. The ranger cried in pain as one of his legs was crunched against rock and ice.

Psyduck saw the pokemon was trying to disable everyone. Psyduck closed the sound out from the group to protect himself and Snorlax from the song. The aircraft took to land when their pokemon began to fall asleep. Several soldiers with weapons began to exit the ships. They moved to try and knock out the two pokemon.

'Captain, we can't do this!' The ranger looked over to the soldiers as they surround him and pointed at him and his pokemon.

'Call your pokemon off. Sorry kid, but this lead is too important.'

Psyduck's eyes glowed at the new threat. His body began to envelop in a violet light intent on breaking through the surrounding pokemon and teleporting him and his partner out of there. Psyduck started to collect energy to release a mental blast to clear the way. 'Psy!' Psyduck flinched and the energy was lost, causing a screeching sound that echoed across the meadow. Several of the energy absorbing pokemon started to focus on him.

Snorlax inhaled a breath before he fired a hyper beam at the ground. It kicked up frozen earth and shielded them for a moment from one side. He turned to the another side and fired a second one just as a few of the humans and pokemon came around the blocked path.

Snorlax refocused on Psyduck. The yellow pokemon shook his groggy head. What ever they had done to him made him exhausted. Snorlax plucked his floating partner from the air and held him with one arm.

Snorlax growled at the group ahead of them. They had reorganized and started to cautiously approach again. Snorlax ran to a portion of kicked up earth and punched it loose. It exploded outward with the sound of the collapsed earth echoed across the plains. The rocks hit a few unfortunate pokemon who's cries were abruptly silenced as they were recalled into their pokeballs.

Snorlax groaned in pain as one pokemon jumped on his back and started cutting his back. Another hit his leg and he sank to one knee. Snorlax tried with all his might to think of a way out. His trainer would have found a way out. Snorlax felt his chest clench as he was hit by a beam of energy that nearly jarred Psyduck loose. _Trainer!_

Snorlax looked at his partner. He understood he had a lot to make up to Psyduck. It took him a long time to understand what he did to Psyduck's home. Snorlax only recently understood he did not think as fast as trainer wanted him to. But trainer was kind and waited for Snorlax.

Snorlax was knocked to the ground and he nearly blacked out as several beams of energy hit him in the back and against his temple. Snorlax looked around in a haze as more pokemon circled him.

Snorlax kept Psyduck safely under him and away from the beams of light. Things started to latch on to him and send energy like Pikachu to him. He grunted. They were not strong, but there were so many...

Snorlax growled and tried to stand up. It took him a moment. He mindlessly swiped at a beam of energy and knocked it away. Snorlax nearly fell over but leaned against the wall he made earlier.

In a hazy memory he heard trainer tell him to use the wall. Snorlax gripped a portion of it and it crumbled into boulders. He threw one at the humans. They gave the orders. Stop them and stop the attacks. He threw another from his wall at the ones that shot lightening into him. The cords were yanked out of his hide painfully. 'Snorlax!'

Ice covered grass crumpled under Snorlax. In a distant memory Snorlax remembered his attempts to lick the snow in the air for the first time. Trainer had laughed and tried to do the same. Snorlax was confused by the slow cold rain that did not get him wet. He opened and closed his paw and played with the small dust that covered his arms. _Snorlax, this is snow. You can do Ice Punch already. You can do this too. We will just look for a place it does not melt fast to try out blizzard._

Snorlax looked at the field. It clicked. Ice covered the ground and the wind was already blowing across the plains. Snorlax gathered ice energy into his free palm as more pokemon began to simply tackle him to the ground and bite and wrapped tendrils, vines and anything else around his neck to make him loose consciousness. The ball of ice energy touched the ground and carried itself into the wind. The wind spread up and circled around the group. The icy wind hit the group. It caused a few of them to wearily look around in case something else came with the attack. Snorlax felt himself blacking out.

Snorlax's vision had darkened while he tried to focus. He saw that the icy wind did not really hurt any of the pokemon but it covered them in a fine layer of ice.

Snorlax heard Psyduck cry in pain. 'Snor!'

Snorlax stood back up pulling half a dozen smaller pokemon with him. He gripped his fist and shattered the earth next to him. The impact lifted the ice off the ground in a concussive wave. Snorlax shook off one last pokemon that still hung on him and placed Psyduck in the hole before he rolled on top of the hole to protect him. Snorlax remembered trainer say to point everything above him so it covers everywhere.

Snorlax saw the ice covered more of the pokemon, trainers, and their weird machines. Snorlax smiled to himself as he erupted a mass of fire that superheated the air right above him. The ice evaporated instantly and traveled the length of the field scalding anyone touched by the ice. _Trainer!_

-o-

Ash sat with Janine and looked at mountain they had flown from. 'It's a lot larger when you are flying over it. I can understand why people just don't fly through them now.'

Janine smiled in agreement. 'The hike south and around them is safer, and way warmer than cutting across.' She had her head resting in her hands and her elbows on the table. They had finished lunch and the two stood up to walk out.

Ash frowned. An unease settled in his chest. 'Janine, can we go back to the center for a moment, I want to go check on my pokemon.'

Janine looked away from the window clothing on display but nodded. 'Whats up Ash?'

Ash tightened his winter coat and put his hands in his pockets. 'Something is bothering me. I'll feel better when I know my pokemon are OK.'

Janine walked with him and kept the conversation light. Janine felt Ash turn more unsettled the closer they got to Pokemon Center. She let the chat die out to a silent walk. She saw this in him just a few days ago with Mewtwo. It made her anxious.

Ash and Janine went in and out of the center with Ash's pokemon in hand. Ash looked at Pikachu's ball and palmed it in his hand before he released his pokemon out of their balls. Pikachu and Gengar looked alert and looked around curiously. Pidgeot cooed at Ash. Ash looked at each of them. It wasn't with them that had him worried. He recalled them all and sighed.

'I'm worried about Psyduck and Snorlax.' He said after he had stared at the snow for a moment. It was not like his link with Psyduck, and their old shared connection he had with his other pokemon. This was just a sick feeling in his stomach. Ash reached and mindlessly took Janine's hand.

'I'll be right back Janine. I want to go look for them.' Janine did not look surprised.

'I'll go with you.'

Ash smiled and shook his head. 'It's probably nothing. I will just do a circle around Pewter and come right back. If they are near by, they will see me and get Pidgeot's attention. Besides, I know you are not looking forward to the cold wind.' Ash teased. He released Pidgeot and jumped on the bird's back. That action alone made Janine worried, he did not take the time to put on the saddle. 'Be careful Ash.'

Ash smiled at her and waved before Pidgeot took to the air.

The world shrank below him as he steadied himself on Pidgeot. He did a large sweep of his eyes before he felt a direction. 'South east Pidgeot.'

After twenty minutes, the feeling did not go away. Ash had already turned back and was on his way back to Janine when he heard, _Lax-._

Ash snapped his head around and turned Pidgeot around sharply. It nearly knocked him off his pokemon. 'Pidgeot as fast as you can. Hurry!'

-o-

Snorlax felt himself wake up. His face and chest were burned and his matted fur pulled at his sensitive skin. Snorlax thought with pride that he had taken as much damage as he gave. Snorlax let his mind wander for a moment before he tried to move. It took another slow minute before he heard the clank of metal bindings that strapped his arms and his neck. He growled and tried to pull them off. He regretted it immediately as electricity ran through his body. He tilted his head slightly and saw one of the people who talked to his friend.

'Why was I even brought on board if you will not listen to me Captain.' Snorlax looked at the man with the funny pink pokemon. They both sported a glare at the older man.

The captain turned out to an older man with graying hair. He gave the Pokemon Ranger an annoyed and impatient look. 'By the time you gave us the call we were already committed. No pokemon would allow us to pull back if we had already attacked.' The captain turned to Snorlax and Psyduck.

The ranger turned and saw Snorlax was awake. The ranger's looked softened. 'I am sorry it's come to this, but you and your friend are too dangerous.' The ranger looked over to his partner wigglytuff who sported red patches of burnt skin across his cheeks. The rest of the ranger's body no longer smoked, but his clothes did have warped patches where plastic instantly melted from the flash scald.

Snorlax looked around until he found Psyduck still unconscious surrounded by pokemon that stared at him. Psyduck flinched and stirred only to stop and slump down to the ground again.

Snorlax thought about trainer. Trainer did not know what happened. Trainer could fix this. Snorlax wanted to fight but he found that when ever he moved, electricity hit him. Then other pokemon would gather around him. They would try and force him asleep but he resisted. He was not tired. He wanted trainer. 'Lax.'

Across the field, several agents were on a communicator. 'We have secured the psychic pokemon and have prepped him for transport. There is still no sign of a trainer. What do you want us to do with the Snorlax?'

The ranger was already yelled across the field at them. 'Just because the trainer is not here does not mean they are abandoned.' The ranger glared back at the captain. 'Captain Tanaka. You saw how these two pokemon took us apart. They are too well trained to be wild pokemon and effort was far too invested for them to be abandoned. You have seen your own battalion's pokemon. They can barely function with out a trainer with them.'

There was a buzz and an distinguishable voice relaying orders that interrupted the group. The Captain gave the Ranger a look. 'Regrettable. We will drop the Snorlax off at the preserve.' There was a thud high in the sky as a Pidgeot slowed down from super sonic speeds.

Pidgeot flapped three times to close the distance before he thrust his wings once hard to slow directly above the battle field. Ash pulled out two pokeballs with one hand and whispered to them. 'This is not a gym battle. Make room, and pin them down.'

He released the pokemon, but only Pikachu fell to the ground. Pikachu flash cycled his electricity and released it just as quickly. The energy arced and forced the pokemon to move away from Psyduck and Snorlax. Pikachu landed in a deep crouch. His battle cry was distorted by the electricity but the snarling blue eyes challenged anyone who would attack him.

Ash jumped off Pidgeot and landed next to Pikachu. The soldiers rallied and turned to the uninvited guest.

Ash looked at the group and tilted his head. 'Only the humans.' The human soldiers froze in their steps. Gengar squeezed the shadows as tight as he could. It halted the soldiers movement. The men and woman struggled and gave cries of frustration. Ash ignored their cries of pain. The shadows bent around the battle field and converged on a single point. Gengar pulled himself out of the pool of shadows. His normal smiling face was grim and his red eyes were narrowed to slits. Ash looked around the soldiers. The pokemon were not sure what to do with out orders.

'What are you doing to my family?'

Gengar squeezed the shadows tighter. A few soldiers fell to their knees at the pull. Ash and Pikachu started walking to Snorlax and Psyduck. 'Pikachu release him.' Pikachu snarled and a snap of lightning rippled at the electric current around the restraints. With no way to stun Snorlax, the large pokemon was able to bend and break the metal bars and the collar to free himself.

Ash looked at the pokemon who surrounded his Psyduck. 'Dark pokemon... What are you doing to Psyduck?' The pokemon looked around waiting for orders. Gengar squeezed the shadows tighter. A few of the shoulders groaned but they did not give a command to stand down.

'Move.' Ash said impatiently. The pokemon refused. The group of pokemon stood their ground and waited for orders from their trainers. They were given instructions and obeyed. Somewhere in the back of his mind Ash knew it would be expected. The warring rage and compassion for the pokemon fought for control. He understood what the pokemon did. They were trained for a job and followed their orders. But Ash was finding it hard to care. Finally he exhaled and stepped back. 'Pidgeot move them before I do something I will regret.'

Pidgeot swooped down and launched a whirl wind that dragged the pokemon into the air current and jettisoned them far away from Psyduck. Ash knelt to his partner and looked at him. With the dark pokemon gone, Psyduck was beginning to stir. Ash sighed in relief that he was OK. Ash turned to Snorlax. The snorlax kept his head low. Ash walked up to him and gave him the warmest hug he could.

'You did the best you could do Snorlax. You did it for all of us. I can never thank you enough for it.' Ash buried his face into Snorlax chest.

The pokemon moved one arm to pat Ash. He loved trainer.

Ash stepped back. He turned back to the men and women who attacked his pokemon. 'Release them Gengar.'

The soldiers took a moment to rebalance them selves from the sudden control over their bodies. Ash wished he could find it all amusing. He looked to Psyduck before he recalled him to his pokeball.

Ash pulled out his pokedex. He typed in a code. Ash needed support. This was definitely Kanto Home Security. The insignia was the same he saw when he was interviewed.

'This is Agatha.'

Ash looked at the older woman. 'I need you and Will to zero in on my location. Find Psyduck. He is very weak but his mind is strong enough to look for. I am asking Sabrina to bring Lieutenant Surge as well. I need someone to tell me to stop.' Ash looked up and glared at the group. He spotted a few people wearing the Pokemon League insignia, but he was not sure how to take that. The two branches rarely worked together.

Agatha stood up and disappeared. A man began to approach the boy and the soldiers were surrounded him. Pikachu snapped electricity at them in warning. The soldiers still surrounded the group but at a wider distance.

'Identify your self trainer.'

'Just a moment I'm busy.' Ash snarled. He pulled open his pokedex one more time. The man glared at him but kept his distance with the pikachu in between them. If the electricity was not a deterrent, the blue eyes and bare fangs were. 'Sabrina, I need you to get the Lieutenant and bring you both here. Now.' Sabrina called alakazam and the connection closed.

The captain signaled for his soldiers to circle the boy to apprehend him. Pikachu stood in front of Ash. His distorted voice echoed off the ground.

A zip of sound appeared behind Ash. Ash looked over his shoulder before looking back to the soldier in front of him. 'Thank you for coming so fast Sabrina. You too Lieutenant Surge.' The man who glared at Ash looked up surprised.

Surge looked around the field. There was a large pokemon fight. He spotted some pokemon restraints on the ground a ways away. It gave him a good idea what happened. 'What grounds did you attempt to obtain a pokemon target Captain?'

Ash sighed as the man who was identified as a captain puffed. 'You have no jurisdiction here. We were following leads to a cold case. It escalated quickly.'

Another zip sounded to their left. Agatha and Will looked around passively at the field. Agatha looked to Will. 'Follow the minds. Give me a report in ten minutes.' Will followed the command and started walking across the field. Will walked among the group of soldiers and pokemon. His briefly flashed with light before he moved on to the next. They looked to their captain who waved for them to stand down.

'You Home Security folk do make the most ignorant blunders.' The captain refocused on Agatha.

Surge gave a grunt of agreement. 'Who was your target Captain.' The captain looked between the two gym leaders and one of the Elite Four.

'The psychic pokemon.' He pointed to Ash. 'It was creating energy close to the test subject that escaped a month ago. We were ordered to obtain the pokemon to analyze how it was producing energy similar to the test subject. There was no trainer near by, we assumed it was a wild pokemon.'

Ash looked over to the backpack Psyduck wore. He bent to pick it up. 'He had my equipment with him and he was not alone. You should have pulled back and requested an identification number from the registry, that could have easily identified them as my pokemon. You should have understood right away that these pokemon were under trainer protection.' Ash gave a glare to three men who walked by and looked at him. They quickly moved on.

'A trainer was not found. After we saw it was trained we assumed it was abandoned. It was only after the fighting started that one of the rangers was able to confirm it had a trainer. But by that point the fight had escalated to the point of apprehending the two pokemon was the priority.' The captain pointed out.

'Abandoned?' Ash seethed. 'Psyduck was trying something new. He needed to be a safe distance away from anything to make sure no one was involved. I had him take Snorlax in case he needed help to recover. He traveled farther than I expected. But I still got Snorlax's call for help and flew as fast as I could.'

The Ranger looked at the boy. The boy just gave something away the Ranger was sure the boy did not realize was important. He looked over to the member of the Elite four and the two gym leaders. Maybe that was why the League had so many representatives so ready to come when the boy called.

The Pokemon Ranger looked back to the captain when he exhaled in frustration.

Agatha turned away from the Captain and observed the scorched earth that fanned out in a circle from a small crater. 'You got more than what you bargained for.' She stated. 'You do understand that every psychic pokemon and psychic human felt new island's mental expansion. They will all try and explore that power. This Psyduck was able to expand it further than most. But it is hardly a reason to break the laws you have done so today.'

Agatha turned back to Will. The young man looked at the captain before he looked back to his master. 'We have a lot to discuss.'

'Thank you Will.' Agatha looked over to Sabrina and Surge who were talking quietly with Ash. He still shook with rage but it was a smoldering coal compared to what it was when it started. Ash glared at the soldiers before he just turned away. He started to recall his pokemon.

Lieutenant Surge turned back to the captain. 'I will be lodging a formal complaint to the Pokemon League and the Parliament. This incident exceeds the powers of Home Security and again accentuates the branch has regarding the lack of comprehension to work with pokemon, or their trainers. It's been too many years for this kind of ignorance to be present. Pokemon have become an integral part of our lives for decades now. The days where we did not need pokemon have long since past.'

Surge turned back to Ash. 'Fuchsia City has the closest Pokemon Center.' Ash blinked. He had not realized how far Psyduck and Snorlax were, nor how fast Pidgeot really flew to get there. That should have been an hour flight.

Sabrina turned to Agatha. 'If you need us, we'll check Ash's pokemon there.' With that, the group blinked away.

Agatha waited until they were gone before she turned back to the captain and the most vocal ranger of the group. A few of the pokemon and soldiers looked injured as well. But if there were a few serious injuries she did not notice, it was likely they would have been transported out immediately.

'Captain. A word.' Agatha beckoned him with a wave of her hand like she would a pet animal.

The captain growled but dismissed the ranger. The ranger gave Agatha a frustrated look before he left. She returned the look with a sympathetic one.

Agatha regarded the rangers' walk back to the aircraft briefly. 'I had not expected League Rangers would have been drafted into this excursion of yours.'

The captain shook his head. 'Orders from above. We are still trying to work around the idea of pokemon in military units.'

Agatha regarded the man silently. 'Orre never used pokemon either. But it's been twenty years since we had needed to have a standing military that had no pokemon in them...'

The captain gave her a steady look. He knew she wanted answers. 'I will not confirm or deny anything you ask Ma'am.'

Agatha smiled and held her cane in both hands and leaned on it slightly. 'Captain, tell me the name of your C.O. Your commanding officer has breached so many laws with this command, I am going to have to hold off participating in the Indigo Plateau tournament for it. Don't make my job harder.' Agatha's genial smile hardened.

The captain weighed his options. 'I am sorry Ma'am I can not divulge any information regarding our mission. You will need to speak directly to Home Security.'

Agatha nodded. She started walking away. 'Very well Captain. But I have a warning for you and the rangers.' Agatha turned to the small group. Her cane touched the ground and every person felt their heads turn to her on its own volition. Cold energy wrapped around the group and Agatha's eyes sparked a deep blue. 'If you mention the boy's ability to anyone outside of Pokemon League authority I will destroy you. The boy is only now beginning to come into his powers.' As abruptly as it happened the energy was gone.

Agatha reached Will and tapped her cane to regain his attention. He mutely turned to the captain and tilted his head politely before the pair blinked away.

The captain hailed and took off his hat. Sweat covered his forehead.

'Do you understand why they asked that Tanaka?'

The ranger petted his pokemon before he stood.

Tanaka growled in frustration and looked over to his shoulders as they hurried to clear out the rest of their equipment and take off. 'I do not. I am from a military family. None of our family ever owned a pokemon.'

The ranger frowned at the term owned. 'If the boy is showing abilities, he will probably be drafted into the League as something important. We rangers are the same. I'm empathic, the other two are psychic.' The ranger laughed bitterly. 'Every gym is required to have someone with an ability. All Pokemon League officers are the same. It is a requirement for the work we do. If that boy has so many connections to the Pokemon League already, he is being watched. You saw how fast Agatha and the gym leaders came. He asked for help and they stopped what they were doing to come to him. It speaks volumes for the interest they have in him.'

Tanaka put his hat on and started walking to his ship. 'Thank you for informing me. And you are right. I just wish the C.O. understood that as well.'

The ranger nodded in agreement. 'Agatha will make good on her promise to register a complaint and bring forth a move in Parliament. I will make a formal complaint as well. It may minimize the damage, but really Commanding Officer Tsukochi has gone too far this time. No one is going to be able to save him.'

The ranger walked back to his designated aircraft. Tanaka just watched him go and wondered when the world started to rely on pokemon for everything. But Captain Tanaka already knew most of it could just be traced back to the last world war.

A/N: This was a fun chapter for me to write. Thanks everyone for your reviews. Chapters are being worked on but are coming slower than I would like. Like always, I love the feedback. So thank you Polished Silver. Janine suffers from a lack of character development that the other characters have had. This included the last chapter where she shared it with the other characters. That's my own fault for not finding a good place to set up her character the way I wanted.

I actually got a few PMs about this, so I'll just address it here too. The relationship between Ash and Janine is intended to be what it is written as, something simple and they are children. They will not be devoting them selves to each other like other stories that try to be romantic. Ash and Janine do like each other but for the scope of their relationship in this story its going be more of a supportive role for each other as equals rather than a true romance. Like with most things in this story, a lot of it happens organically when I write. Ash was never meant to gain friends in this story, but it just happened to work out that way as I wrote the story.

See you all next chapter!


	16. Chapter 16: Turning point

Sabrina looked at Ash with a suppressed sigh of relief. Now that he was away from the Home Security agents he was able to get his rage, there was no other word for it, under control. He looked to Lieutenant Surge and Sabrina and flushed. 'Sorry.'

Surge puffed a breath of air and patted the young man's shoulder. 'You did the right thing Ketchum. What they were trying to do is illegal.' He gave a hard glare at the thought. 'You were fortunate you had the ability to call us. When in doubt bring the League in.'

Surge looked around and realized they had teleported to Fuchsia's pokemon Center. 'Kanto home security forgets the League is not a domestic organization. We are an international effort where Kanto is only a single branch in the mighty tree.' Surge grimaced as he said this.

Sabrina gave him a smile. She laughed as she saw Ash's confusion. 'Surge was an officer of Kanto Army before he retired after the war. He still holds his position as Lieutenant, but it is more out of duty and support of the League and Kanto showing a unified front than an actual officer in the army.'

Ash still was not sure why that would bother Surge but merely shrugged it off and would think about it later.

Surge just moved on. 'If this is how they are running their ship, they better get everything in order before we investigate. What they did, or attempted to do, broke international law.'

Sabrina let her smile fall at that and nodded seriously. Ash let the two have their silent moment before he stirred thinking about Janine. Ash looked over to Sabrina, 'Sabrina, are you and your alakazam able to make multiple teleports across country?' Sabrina nodded.

'Yes, why do you ask?' She looked at Ash and still marveled at the black void she stared at when she spoke to him. It felt like hairs were pulled on the top of her head when her mind looked at him.

'I have a friend named Janine. I left her behind in Pewter. Would you be able to bring her down?'

Sabrina huffed at the boy. After a moment she realized who Janine was, 'This is yours and Misty's friend?'

Ash nodded. Sabrina looked at him wondering how she would find the girl. She could not read Ash's mind to find the location and she never met Janine in person. Ash gave a grunt as he pulled out his pokedex and flinched at a green circle with a number three on top of the icon.

Ash muttered an 'Excuse me', before he walked away from the pair of gym leaders. Ash felt nervous at the name on the first message.

 _Janine_

Ash clicked the message and saw Janine stare at the camera with a worried expression. 'Ash is everything OK? You just took off. I am at Pewter's Pokemon Center. As soon as you left, our friend in Cerulean said you would be busy for a moment and may not come and get me soon. I hope every thing is alright. Call me at the center as soon as you can. I'm worried.'

Ash closed the message, absorbing what she just said. He looked at the two other messages. Janine did not know his pokedex id. Not before he left. Sure enough he saw a message from both Misty and Gary. Ash scratched his head. Before he reluctantly started to listen to the other messages, he looked back to the gym leaders who waited patiently.

'Eh, Sabrina, Janine is at the Pewter City Pokemon Center, can you bring her over? Psyduck needs to be looked over and Pidgeot flew hard to get to Psyduck and Snorlax.' Ash did not mention is was the fastest Pidgeot ever flew with Ash on his back.

Sabrina smiled kindly at him and nodded. 'I'll return with your friend shortly.'

-o-

Ash sat quietly with Janine while they waited for Agatha to show. Will had sent a message to Sabrina that they would be at the Pokemon Center shortly. Sabrina cut her quiet conversation with Surge before the air shimmered with a zip sound. Will floated in the air for a few more seconds before he touched the ground with Agatha next to him. He he gave Ash a wave before he took a seat next to Sabrina and exhaled a sigh of relief.

'So many long distance jumps can get tiring fast.' Sabrina gave Will a sympathetic smile.

Ash walked up to Agatha and bowed. 'Thank you for coming so quickly when I asked Agatha.'

Agatha smiled at the young man before she looked to Janine curiously. 'I want to thank you for showing me what those _people-'_ She spat the word, 'had done. 'Will found some important information that links up with what they found at New Island. What happened out there was not an isolated incident. It's something they have been doing for years.' Agatha snarled at the idea before she looked at the group. 'We were delayed because I reported to Goodshow directly.' Sabrina and Surge looked at her.

She gave the two an annoyed look. 'I wasn't pleased to bring him the news either.'

Surge cleared his throat and Sabrina looked anywhere but at Agatha.

Ash looked over to Janine who whispered to him. 'That's the President of the Pokemon League. I don't know why they are acting like that though.'

Ash shared a confused look with Janine. Agatha looked at the boy before she added thoughtfully, 'You are a lot like Mr. Goodshow Ash.'

'How so?' Ash's eyebrows raised into his hairline.

Agatha looked to his belt but realized that Ash did not have his pokemon on him. They must have been handed to Nurse Joy's tender mercies. 'He protects his family with his life. And like you, he takes it personally.'

Ash flushed at the observation. Janine nudged him playfully with her shoulder. Ash took his hand out of his pocket and they squeezed hands before letting go.

'He was mad that Ash's pokemon were attacked?' Ventured Janine.

Will helpfully added, 'If you are a trainer, you are family in Mr. Goodshow's eyes. Home Security has been taking in trainers for arrests for a long time now. The League never knew it was happening. We had the occasional missing persons report, but those are handled by Home Security not by local pokemon league police. The Jenny's have no jurisdiction outside of their towns.' Will grimaced at the memory of Mr. Goodshow. 'He was pissed. We calmed him down enough before he left to Kanto Parliament in Celadon. He is probably interrupting their meetings right now.'

'Won't that get him in trouble?' Ash asked only now understanding the scope of what he started.

Sabrina and Surge laughed nervously. You don't argue with Mr. Goodshow. When the only unified pokemon league champion in history speaks, you hear and obey.

-o-

Mr. Goodshow was an old man. He watched countries rise and fall. He had fought in three wars and grew up as a child in a fourth. He understood the need for peace and the reassurance of holding a weapon in his hand to protect his loved ones. He has been on both the sides that had disarmed enemies and have been disarmed. It was never a good feeling to feel freedom or at least the illusion of freedom being stripped away.

Mr. Goodshow brushed his white beard while he thought of what was to come. It was time to again strip away a freedom.

Mr. Goodshow walked past the finely carved wooden doors of the chambers. It alarmed several security guards who were hastily told to salute. Mr. Goodshows' quick moving gait was matched by Lance and Bruno of the Elite Four. Each member of the group kept a closed face. Several men and woman came to greet them. Mr. Goodshow gave them clipped answers and pushed one of them aside when they denied him entry into the congregation hall.

Lance walked ahead and opened the next door allowing Mr. Goodshow to see the orator in the center of the room speak. The President of the Pokemon League did not hear what they said. Mr. Goodshow simply looked to the rise above the chambers. He was happy the Minister was present for this hall meeting. It made what he demanded to be decisive and quick. Get it done with and behind them.

Like ripping off a band-aid.

Mr. Goodshow exhaled and the room began to feel the tension as the orator slowed and halted his speech seconds before Mr. Goodshow walked up to the dais and looked calmly at the orator. The orator was a senator of West Kanto, a small providence that contained Pewter City.

The man was an older gentleman with gray hair only now coming into his hair line. The senator bowed his head. 'I bow my head in deference to Mr. Goodshow.' He hastily retreated to his seat.

Mr. Goodshow was known to have a smile on his face and it made the senators and the Minister uneasy to see him with a blank look. Absent were the shades and floral patterned shirt. He wore the Pokemon League vest and black fatigues. 'Gentlemen, Ladies, Minister. A great injustice has occurred on your soil to a growing list of members of the League.' He paused and looked around the group. 'Kanto has had leeway for the past twenty eight years to conduct its own independent investigations outside of the pokemon league personal provided to them. It was there to honor the old ways that were governed by them before the restructuring of the first war.'

Mr. Goodshow saw a few people begin to understand the seriousness of the meeting from that statement. Lance and Bruno had flanked Mr. Goodshow and each constantly looked around and monitored the reactions of the senate. Bruno raised his head and found the Minister talking quietly to an aid. He glared at the man but it went unnoticed. Likely the agent he spoke to had given the man the information of the most recent incident.

'This was a decision provided by the Pokemon League as a gesture of goodwill. Kanto would receive Pokemon League protection and still retain its own military autonomy. And indeed, it was a prudent decision twelve short years later with the Orre War.' Mr. Good show looked around with a steady eye to convey his own approval of Kanto's decisions.

'Which it is why it pains me to formally demand Kanto to relinquish that autonomy.'

Senators stood from their seats in protests and the chamber echoed their disapproval.

Mr. Goodshow's eyes flashed a deep blue. 'Sit down.'

A wave of energy rippled through the people in the room. There was a round of shudders as several fell into their seats unceremoniously. Lance looked carefully to the few that stood their ground from the wave of pressure. These women and men gracefully took their seats. Lance only recognized two of them as being former trainers. Each of these men and women each had an idea of what could rile Mr. Goodshow.

'Kanto has forfeit its status due to the abuse it has had on pokemon, and the League. Kanto had successfully made progress in research of pokemon with out the aid of the Pokemon League, but the means they reached those goals have come to light and include: pokemon poaching, experimentation, cloning, and human trainer and pokemon abduction. These facts are indisputable. It is enough evidence that Kanto has purposefully targeted Pokemon League personnel in this country.'

The minister stirred at this and stood. 'Mr. Goodshow. May we continue this in private chambers?' The man named Kei Ming waved one of his advisers away who were trying urgently give information to attempt to handle the situation.

'Minister Ming. My pokemon league members almost killed your soldiers today in self defense. Your military bared its fangs at the Pokemon League. It was only by restraint that your soldiers are alive. The moment for negotiations is over. You will vote by tonight. Will you dismantle Kanto Home Security and continue to enjoy the protection of the Pokemon League just like every other region. Or the Pokemon League will withdraw from Kanto. Make no mistake,' Mr. Goodshow looked around the room. There had been murmurs that had slowly built up during his announcment. They paused when he said, 'Kanto has made a very powerful enemy.'

There was another murmur before Minister Ming covered his face with his hand. He started to make his way down to the senators. Goodshow gave them an ultimatum. The veterans who were now in office knew that he would follow through. If the Pokemon League left Kanto, it would destroy the economy and the civil services in place provided by the League.

Mr. Goodshow waited patiently at the podium while the parliement organized and started talking among themselves. He tilted his head slightly behind him. 'Thank you both for coming.'

Lance nodded firmly. 'We understand Sir. We just wish we could have sat on the information from that lab a little longer so we would not have to be so public with the negotiations. The new information Will picked up from that squad made waiting unacceptable. None of us knew that there was a task force for intercepting strong trainers and incorporating strong already trained pokemon into their force. The team rocket unit was only vaguely given a name a few years ago. But it's function was never defined according to Lorelei.'

Mr. Goodshow nodded. He sighed as he turned to Bruno. 'Lorelei was in charge of Home Security over sight?' Bruno nodded his confirmation.

Mr. Goodshow looked to the crowd and felt a pained twinge enter his voice. 'Do you believe she had any clue what was occurring on her watch?'

Lance and Bruno both shook their heads a negative. 'None of us had a clue until the New Island incident. Lorelei was the first to start the investigation but she was stone walled from entering Home Security.'

Mr. Goodshow furrowed his brow. 'If we remain in Kanto, I will announce her participation in the Indigo Plateau.'

Bruno and Lance snapped their heads to their president. Lorelei's entry into the tournament effectively announced that her position was free with out needing to challenge her directly. She would need to win the tournament to keep her position.

-o-

'Sabrina, I know you are tied up with challenges this time of year, but can you stay with Ash and check on Psyduck when he is recovered?'

Sabrina nodded. 'I have been wanting to catch up with Ash and Surge anyway.'

Surge chuckled as he stood up to join the group. 'When did I get pulled into this?'

Sabrina smirked at him. 'You can always walk back to Vermillion.'

Janine and Ash tried to keep straight faces while Surge simply let his shoulders slump in surrender.

Agatha smacked Will's shin with her cane. 'Let's go lad. Times wasting.'

Will grimaced and stood back up. 'This will be my last one for the day Agatha. I'm tapped.'

After a thought, Agatha turned to Ash. 'The less I know what's going on with your pokemon the better Ash. But from now on, do not let them wander too far from you. Too many people are watching.' Janine stirred uncomfortably beside Ash. She found her hand into his at what ever she remembered. Ash would need to find some time alone with her before he could ask what she thought.

After they had left, Ash sat in his chair and leaned back. The day drained him. He had a lot of questions and even more things to think about. When he looked back to Janine, he noticed that Surge and Sabrina joined the pair at the table.

'Ash do you know what your Psyduck was doing?'

Ash saw Janine look to Ash as well. She knew he was going to try and find mewtwo. But Ash did not know psyduck was successful until Janine said Mewtwo went looking for her. Ash reasoned he must have if he could have felt Snorlax's being in trouble. It was probably what drew the Home Security to them. 'He still had that block on him. He wanted to try and move away for the day to try and remove it. He seemed convinced he had a breakthrough.'

Sabrina looked to Janine. While Sabrina could go through Janine's memories if the gym leader needed to, she would take Ash's word for it. Agatha was right. The less people knew what Ash may have been doing, the less danger he would be in. 'The military police officer said they were looking for Mewtwo's energy and locked on to what ever Psyduck was doing. When he comes to, we need to stress upon him that he can not do that again. At least for the foreseeable future. Not if Home Security is going to look for them.'

Ash agreed immediately.

Gently, Surge asked, 'Ash you were in Pewter right? How did you know your pokemon were in danger?'

Ash looked to Sabrina who smiled in encouragement but she answered for him. 'He has demonstrated certain abilities for a while now, but just recently he was not able to express them. Have you found a way to heal yourself?'

Ash shook his head even as his chest felt sense of hope that he was able to sense Snorlax's call for help. 'Snorlax cry of pain was the first in a long time.'

Janine added, 'He had been feeling out of sorts for an hour before he took off to look for Psyduck and Snorlax. Ash was getting really anxious for a while there too.' She leaned against his shoulder and sighed.

Ash looked to her head. She looked up with an unrepentant look. Ash released an exasperated laugh for her thrown two bits.

'It did get bad there. And Janine is right, I was worried for a while.'

She just nodded against his shoulder. Ash and Janine broke their gaze and looked at the two gym leaders.

Surge and Sabrina seemed to have a wordless argument with one another. Ash found it amusing that it did not seem to be taking place in their minds, as both Surge and Sabrina were both expressing their argument to each other. Sabrina glared at Surge's smirk.

'What Surge wanted to talk about is your ability and the Pokemon League.' Sabrina's voice was clipped and her eyes were hard as she glanced at Surge.

Surge himself let his smile fade and looked to Janine. 'Has your father talked to you about your heritage at all as the future gym leader?'

Janine shook her head.

Surge pointed his finger at her. 'He will soon if he is thinking you should take over. But maybe not, even if he is able to become a member of the elite four he could still keep his residence at Fuchsia City. The point is, for as long as the Pokemon League has been an organization, people with abilities have had a hand in the major functions of the Pokemon League. Elite members, Rangers, even the gyms need to have a representative with an ability that will allow them to fight and protect others with out the aid of pokemon.'

Ash and Janine both gave wide eyed expressions at the information. 'So does that mean Misty has something like that too?'

Surge shook his head. 'Sadly she doesn't. But she is able to still be the gym leader so long as someone from the gym lives there that has an ability. In this case its one of her sisters.'

Sabrina sighed in exasperation at the women in Cerulean. 'It's Lily Ash. Lily is able to have some control of water.' Janine snorted in spite of her self.

Ash looked at her before she muttered out. 'The water shows.' Ash laughed when he made the connection.

'I had not given it much thought about others having abilities. Does every person who runs the Pokemon League have abilities?'

Surge shook his head. 'Almost all of them. The only exception I know of for sure is Bruno. He is able to fight bare handed against pokemon. He never needed an ability to compete against them.'

Ash thought about all of the training he had with his pokemon. He was ready to throw himself into training like his pokemon. Ash _had_ wondered why others never thought or attempted to train with their pokemon. How much of it all was from an untapped ability?

'Ash I can't read your mind, but I can still read your expression.' Sabrina said flatly. 'I know what you are thinking. I can say confidently your ability had no impact on training your pokemon. Your ability looked to be and still seems like it is a sensory ability.' Janine leaned forward while listening. She spotted Ash out of the corner of her eye was just as eager for information as she was.

'When you fully heal, I encourage you to try and explore it. But for now, just be satisfied. The choices you have made to train and battle with your pokemon came from your own skills, and not some kind of inherent advantage.'

Ash exhaled in relief. He never wanted to cheapen the hard work his family had done to make it this far.

-o-

Janine was chatting quietly with Sabrina when there was a stir from a few people crowded around a television. 'By Arceus, are they serious?'

Ash leaned back against his chair and looked at the tv over his shoulder. There was some kind of press conference.

'That's Mr. Goodshow Ash.' Sabrina said absentmindedly. She watched the news unsurprised at the announcement.

The group slowly walked up to the television set as someone raised the volume.

 _The Parliament unanimously agreed to start the procedure to dismantle Home Security. Home Security was the last vestiges of the Kanto Army. It has been the nations defense against enemy attack for decades. For many families, it was a dynasty that was forcefully condemned by the Pokemon League after allegations that the defense branch had actively broken international law by abducting pokemon and Kanto resident trainers for years. The system has been unnoticed despite the continued requests from Gym leaders that spanned over eight years regarding missing persons cases of trainers from ages ten to fourteen._

 _Further investigation's will continue for the foreseeable future. Mr. Goodshow as stated that the seriousness of these alligations will be made public after a hearing for the Home Security Council. The hearing will be observed by the Pokemon league Champions of Johto, Hoenn, Orange Islands and the Master Ranger from Fiore as well as three of the Kanto Elite Four._

Ash looked around the crowd who had varying degrees of surprise, disgust and fear. He did not know which reaction made him feel more uneasy.

Janine grabbed his arm gently. 'I have to go speak to daddy. Were you still coming up?'

Ash nodded. 'Yeah I'll be coming tonight. I may be late though if Psyduck needs help.'

Janine nodded and hugged him. 'I'll see you soon.' She turned to Sabrina and Surge. 'Thank you for bringing me home. I hope to see you guys again soon too.'

Janine bowed and started to jog out of the building and to her family's gym.

Evening sunset came and went. Ash was finally called to the front desk. He thanked Nurse Joy for healing his pokemon and eagerly went back to the entrance to meet with Sabrina and Surge. Sabrina had still been watching the news. The current piece was about Mr. Goodshow's interruption of a vote during a Parliament session to bring serious alligations about Kanto as a whole. The two news casters predicted what that would mean in the long run.

Sabrina turned away and looked to Ash. 'Let me see Psyduck.'

Ash pulled his pokeball out and released his partner. Psyduck looked around sleepily before he spotted Ash. Psyduck quickly waddle and jumped up and down. Ash laughed and knelt to hug his friend. 'I can tell you had a breakthrough. I am sorry I took so long to find you two.' Ash squeezed Psyduck as the duck hugged back. Psyduck looked over to Surge and Sabrina and waved a feathered arm at the two.

'Good evening Psyduck. It's good to see you again.'

Surge waved wordlessly and knelt down. This would take a while for Sabrina to check on the bird.

'Psyduck I just want to check on you. With that many psychic and dark attacks to keep you under I just want to make sure you took no lasting damage.'

Psyduck quacked happily while he just looked at Sabrina. The woman cheered. 'I can tell right away that he was healed. What ever he did cleared out the shadow that hung over him. His mind is very mature.' Sabrina waved a hand over the pokemons temple. Her graceful hand traced the duck's cheek and his bill.

'You seemed to have built up a resistance to those kind of attacks. It was probably from all of that energy that sat within you for so long. Thank goodness for small miracles. I was worried the way Ash described your condition. It seemed to be nothing that a long rest couldn't have cured.'

Ash sighed in relief. 'That's good. Thank you both for staying for so long to check on him.'

Surge stood back up in a single fluid motion. 'Any time Ash. Actually I was curious, did you find the em... Gifts alright?'

Ash looked at the man and started to smile before he flinched. 'They are amazing. But I did kinda break one a stone on one of them... I was looking for a thunderstone to replace it, but that was a while ago. I kinda had to put that on hold.' Ash grimaced as he confessed everything to Surge. Quickly he added, 'But I still use them. I train all of my pokemon in some way with them.'

Surge laughed. 'I am amazed you still have one of the stones in tact. Those are very old thunderstones Ash. They would naturally loose energy. So you still have one with a functioning thunderstone?'

Ash nodded relieved Surge did not seemed to mind and even expected one would break or wear down.

'Leave the other one blank for now. I am sure you will find something useful to put in there. But most stones will not work with those kinds of rods. They are used to channel energy. Fire, lightning, water all work. But some of the other stones are completely inert when touching the metal. If you think you found a stone you want to use, get one and bring it to me, I'll cut it for you so it fits.'

'You made those?' Ash looked at the man surprised.

Surge felt now that Ash knew, it was safe enough to show him. He took off a glove and held his thumb and index finger close to each other. A bright blue beam of energy zapped across his finger tips. 'What I mean to say is, I cut the gems myself. I have to. They will break if you use traditional methods.' He winked at Ash before he joined Sabrina who had patiently waited with her Alakazam.

'Say good night to Janine for us both Ash. We'll be watching at the new comers tournament. Just don't tell anyone we will be cheering for you.' Sabrina said with a finger over her lips. She winked as the group disappeared in a zap of energy.

Psyduck waved with both arms at the group as they left and looked around. He noticed that he and Ash were alone outside the pokemon center. It was going to be too late soon to go to Koga's gym if they did not go now. Ash sighed while he looked up to the top of the cliff where the Fucschia City's gym stood. He turned to Psyduck and nearly blowed his face into Psyduck's feathers. Ash took a step back to look at Psyduck. The duck pokemon made an effort to hold it in before he let go a full bellied laugh. Ash took a moment to admire how effortlessly Psyduck floated in the air.

Ash laughed with Psyduck before he plucked the pokemon out of the air and spun him around. 'You did it. Sabrina said she could see you. Congratulations Psyduck! Let's go tell Janine.' The pair felt the world around them balloon and bubble before it moved around them in a pop of energy.

-o-

Janine waited at the entrance to the gym. She called over her shoulder to her grandfather before she ran and pulled Ash inside. Her grandfather Kyo greeted Ash as the two children walked inside the courtyard. His pale eyes greeted him with a friendly gaze. Ash recalled Psyduck and bowed. 'Thank you for waiting for me Sir. I hope I did not keep you waiting long.' Ash kept his head bowed. He was anxious to know if Koga was upset that he had effectively abandoned Janine in Pewter.

'Ash. Come with me, Janine will ready your room. We have much to discuss.' Kyo started walking away. Apparently this was news to Janine too since she looked just as surprised. She shrugged at Ash and pushed him in grandpa Kyo's direction.

Ash was escorted to a room and he folded his legs underneath himself with proper posture in mimic of Kyo.

Kyo looked at the boy and nodded his head to himself. 'Koga wants to apologize to you for a number of things, but the first is that he is unable to fight you for his gym badge. I will be your opponent.'

Ash inhaled sharply. 'What changed?'

Kyo laughed and pointed his finger at Ash. 'You did. You and Goodshow just changed everything with todays events. Koga has decided he will attempt the Indigo Plateau this year to take a position as a member of the Elite Four. The inaction of the current Elite Four over Kanto's interference motivated him to start now. As such, it would be in conflict of interests if he fought you for a gym battle when he will likely face you in the tournament. He sends his apologies.'

Ash digested the information while he thought about the Indigo Plateau. He knew the tournament was a place where you could get recruited but he did not think you could actually become an elite four member from it. 'Do you just become a member of the Elite Four by winning the tournament? I spoke only to few trainers who were looking for promotions.'

Kyo stroked his white beard. 'Of a sorts Ash. Being in the top four of the tournament allows you to challenge the Elite Four. The top four from the tournament have the option to challenge one of the Elite Four for their position. Each defender can hold up to six pokemon to fight for their position on the Elite Four. If you beat one, you have earned your place among the four.'

Ash slumped his shoulders. 'And that is what Koga is trying to do?'

'Yes. But the larger reason is that Lorelei has lost her position as a member of the Elite Four. She will have to participate in the tournament to earn her position back. Koga thought this was as good of an opportunity as he would get.'

Ash felt like he was sucker punched at the news. He hadn't meant for this all to happen when he called Agatha.

Ash was brought back to the conversation when Kyo added, 'Of course there are a few upstarts that believe they can try to keep going past that.'

Ash gave him a curious look. Kyo laughed at the boy's inherent lack of knowledge of the subject. 'Sorry Ash, I did not mean to laugh at you. Koga and I both tend to forget, you are still a new trainer. You do not know.'

Ash repressed the urge to pout before he graciously smiled at the older man.

Kyo looked at the time. 'I'll keep it brief, I have kept you long enough. If a challenger wins a match against the Elite Four they may choose to continue to challenge the other members. But to do so, you need to sacrifice your newly acquired position. Instead, you will be fighting a gauntlet of every member of the Elite Four until you win or loose. If you win you are given the title of Pokemon League Champion. But Kanto has some of the strongest Elite Four in a generation. Which is why we have not had a seated Champion in over twenty years.'

Ash sat back on his legs and really began to understand what the Indigo Plateau meant. 'Thank you for telling me about all of this. The more I look for information, the more I realize how little I know. About everything.'

'That is something Koga and I truly respect about you Ash.'

Ash gave Kyo a thankful smile.

'Going back to your challenge, Koga has already relocated to the Pokemon League Headquarters in preparation for his attempt. As such, I am now acting gym leader for Fuchsia City's gym. Our match will be a four on four match with single round bouts. Any preparations you made for the match would not be affected by the change in opponent.'

Ash nodded silently trying to absorb it all. 'Does Janine know he left and that he is training to become an Elite Four member in this years tournament?'

Kyo shook his head. 'She only knows that he had to leave to the Indigo Plateau. She will find out tomorrow. I believe her day has already been stressful enough as it is. Unfortunately I could not afford you the same luxury. Are you ready to face this gym tomorrow?' Ash thought about his pokemon.

'I will make the attempt. I may withdraw depending on my condition of my pokemon during the gym battle. How long does it take most pokemon to recover from your gym's poison?'

Kyo grinned his satisfaction at the question. 'Two to three days. This will be a ten badge match Ash. Come prepared to fight.'

Ash swallowed the lump in his throat at the harden look Kyo gave him. The energy focused on him was gone in a flash. Kyo stood up and Ash joined him. 'Janine should be down the hall finishing your room. We had not known when you would come so we did not have the room ready for you. I apologize. I will see you tomorrow morning at nine in the morning for the battle. Janine will likely show you to breakfast before then. Good night Ash Ketchum.'

Ash bowed his head from his knelt position and stood to leave after the dismissal.

Ash's head was swirling with the information he received that day. He saw a few lights were turned on down the darkened hall and headed in that direction. A single bend around the hall showed Janine struggling with a futon. Ash just paused and looked at her. She was grounding her teeth as the over large mattress refused to clear the closet door. Janine nearly lost her grip as she fell back against the opposing wall of the hall.

Ash laughed out, 'What are you doing Janine?'

Janine reddened before she looked over to Ash. 'You are done already? I thought I would have a few more minutes.'

'Let me help.' With two pairs of hands, they were able to pull the folded mattress out of the closet and into the room Ash would stay in. Ash dropped his weight on the floor and sighed. Janine joined him. The room was barren with the exception of a small table and lamp. It barely lit the room this late in the evening.

'I got word why your father isn't here.'

Janine looked at him sleepily. Ash smiled in understanding. It was very late. 'What happened?' She slowly became more awake with news of her missing father.

'He went to the Indigo Plateau to prepare to enter the tournament. Lorelei of the Elite Four has to compete in the tournament. He saw it as his chance to try.'

Janine gave an 'oh' before she sighed and leaned back to lay flat on the floor. She gave a grunt from the impact. 'We'll there goes that plan. Oh well! easy come, easy go.'

Ash looked at her, 'What was the plan?'

She sat back up easily, and grabbed her toes while she leaned forward. 'White wanted us to meet him before the Indigo League tournament. He was not sure how long it would take to clear your block, but it would need to be in a place no one can track you. I wanted to ask you if I could come along. But that won't be possible now.'

Ash smiled slightly thinking of Mewtwo's white hair. 'I am assuming White is our friend name from Cerulean?'

Janine scrunched her nose with a smile. 'Yep! He liked it. After this gym challenge he really wants to meet you again Ash.'

Ash smiled at the idea. He was looking forward to it.

'Um, Ash?'

Ash did not realize he had his eyes closed and was nodding off. 'Hmm?'

Janine looked unsure of what she was about to say and she got on all fours and crawled up to him to poke his cheek. 'I think you should know, well- I think he feels that way. But White left the impression that he really looks up to you. Or defers to you? I don't know.'

Ash understood what she meant. Some how during the early moments of Mewtwo's mind forming into a true consciousness, Mewtwo has begun to think of him as a teacher. Ash had a vague idea that was the case with how easily Mewtwo listened to his requests. Mewtwo trusted Ash to show him how to control his powers. And in turn Ash trusted that Mewtwo would be able to take care of Psyduck on his own.

'Thanks for letting me know Janine.'

-o-

Ash sat on the out door deck. The heat that rolled north off the water kept the city warm and protected from the northern winter. Ash sighed in contentment. He was ready. After searching with in himself he could start to feel the glimmer of what he felt from Snorlax's cry. It was a warm comfort after he had not felt a thing for so long.

A slight knock on the door frame rouse Ash from his thoughts. Ash looked over his shoulder and smiled at Janine. 'Are we ready?'

Janine nodded before opening the door wider to walk in. 'It will start in half an hour. Did you need anything before you go down?'

Ash shook his head. All of his pokemon were rested from the long sleep in, and Psyduck and Snorlax did not show any residual effects from the stunners they felt the morning before. Ash felt he had less time than he wanted to go through Kyo's roster. But Janine reminded him he would not have that luxury if he intended to go into the tournaments.

Ash stood and followed Janine down the stairs and into the challengers box. It was the same one he saw before. It was a narrow gym field where he stood high above the field in a separated platform. Ash reasoned it was because of the poison property of the pokemon that they had to build a gym field where trainers and gym leaders would be safely away from any stray winds.

Ash had to say he was actually nervous for this gym. For as many trainers as he had encountered, he could honestly say he never really fought a poison pokemon before. Sure he spared with Jessie and James, but that was more for them to try and learn from him rather than a battle with an experienced trainer. Even in the early days when he would likely encounter a bug pokemon, none of those wild pokemon had learned those moves, or at least never used them.

The door across the field opened with Kyo steadily walking outside and waved. 'Good morning Ash. Are you ready?'

Ash nodded, 'Yes sir. Thank you for the match.'

Kyo allowed a small smile before he pulled off a pokemon from his sleave where he kept them under his robes. 'This will be a four on four single round ten-badge match. You must defeat all four pokemon to win your badge.'

Kyo released his first pokemon to the grassy field below them. 'Cover the world with your dark cloud, Topaz.'

Ash looked at the giant moth that hovered in the gym field. He had read the entry before but he kept his pokedex out in case it came in handy. It was the first time he saw Venomoth before.

Ash moved his hands across his pokeballs and decided to start with a flying versus flying pokemon. 'Pidgeot, come on out.'

Pidgeot flew in an arc and stopped above the ground right in front of Ash. He hovered with a few slow flaps from his wings. 'Control the air and we should be alright.'

Pidgeot cawed.

Ash repressed a smile when he heard Janine's voice from some where above them shout, 'Begin!'

Topaz silently flapped his wings while he waited for Pidgeot to make the first move. Ash frowned at the passiveness of the pokemon. He looked down to Pidgeot. 'Pidgeot gust against the wall. We need an active current in this small box.' Pidgeot complied and ignored Topaz for a moment to create a wall of air that circled along the small gym floor. 'Quick attack to test him.'

Kyo stroked his beard while watching the preparation. 'Topaz, poison powder.' The Venomoth hovered in place and flapped his wings once to release a dust off his body just as Pidgeot made contact. Pidgeot crashed to the ground expected to hit something solid. Topaz stopped his flight path and hovered calmly behind Pidgeot. Ash whistled at the move. He did not have time to call Pidgeot a warning that Topaz allowed himself to be sucked into the gust that surrounded the gym to dodge.

'Pidgeot get into the gust to clear off the poison powder.-'

Just as Pidgeot entered the gust, Kyo called, 'Stun spore, sleep powder.'

Venomoth entered the gust and released a cocktail of poisons into the wind. Pidgeot was quickly feeling the effects of the poisons and broke the gust and flew to the center of the ring.

Kyo nodded at the moves, but felt it was time to end it. 'Leech seed, Giga drain.'

Pidgeot heard the orders and tried to dodge. His muscles in his wings spasmed. Topaz used the opportunity to buffet Pidgeot with a gust. The sudden burst of air pushed pidgeot out of the air. He landed ungracefully on the ground with a soft 'thump' before he tried to take off fighting against his spasming muscles. Pidgeot cawed at the air current laced with poisons when it pressed him against the ground a second time. Pidgeot his shoulders helplessly as the energy was sapped out of him.

Ash recalled him and held the ball in his hand. A heart beat later Ash kissed his pokeball. 'You did good Pidgeot, they were just better.' Ash looked to Kyo. It was his first out right failure in a gym battle. Ash took a second to think it over and nodded to himself. 'Kyo? May we continue? I would like to see your other pokemon in action.'

Kyo gave a wide smile. 'I had hoped you would ask that.' Kyo pulled out another pokeball from his robes. 'Destroy their senses with time, Amethyst.'

Ash scratched his head as he clicked the pokedex one more time, a Muk. The purple blob burped out a greeting as it formed into a pair of eyes and a mouth before it collapsed in on itself and only to reform again.

Ash released Gengar. 'Pidgeot fell quickly to the poisons Gengar. We'll need to control the space in this gym.'

Gengar laughed happily. Ash repressed another smile at Janine's voice from above them. 'Begin! You can do it Ash!'

'Gengar double team, confuse ray.' Gengar spun in place before he split into four copies. Each one fired a beam of green energy at Amethyst.

'Disable, poison Gas.' Kyo tilted his head at the opening.

Gengar grunted as three clones disappeared. Muttering to himself Kyo sighed, 'That was disappointing, I was hopping for the confuse ray.'

Amethyst took the hit and his body immediately spasmed. Globs of its body spiked and reformed on itself. The poison gas lost the speed it had to move across the room now that Amethyst was no longer controlling it.'Minimize, acid armor, fireblast.'

Gengar moved around the poison gas to close the distance only to see Amethyst condense his body and the violet gel hardened. Amethyst opened his mouth and launched a volley of fire. Gengar easily dodged it, 'Gengar, it was towards the gas!' Ash called urgently. Gengar dropped into Amethyst shadow just as the explosion shook the field.

'Pound, Mega drain.' Kyo ordered patiently. Amethyst's body expanded to full size enveloping the smaller shadow. The ground shook as Amethyst's fist punctured the ground and started drawing energy from any target directly beneath him. Ash could hear Gengar cry before it was silenced.

Ash stared blankly at the sudden end. He pulled out his pokeball and recalled Gengar as soon as Amethyst oozed off of him. Ash looked at the fight and knew he was simply out played. Kyo was not just getting himself into position to win a fight. He actively forced Pidgeot and Gengar into positions to loose.

Ash exhaled before he could not repress the giddy feeling in his chest. He looked to Kyo, 'The next one?'

Kyo smiled at the boy. How could he not? Here was someone who would become great one day. The boy needed to learn what it is like to loose. But it was how he handles that loss that speaks volumes of his character. Kyo had thought how he was going to handle this charmander pup. Would he gently pat his head? Or would he show him, viciously, what it is like to fight a full grown predator?

Kyo was relieved he made the right decision. To himself, 'This is why Koga was disappointed he would not fight Ash.' Louder, 'Burn their lungs like a disease, Tourmaline.'

Ash smiled at this pokemon. Finally one he had fought before. The Weezing floated high in the air. Puffs of gas released from its body as it moved around Kyo's side of the gym.

'Pikachu. Let's go!'

Pikachu landed in the grassy field and looked up to the floating Weezing. The Weezing smiled with its two mouths. Its gapping teeth clattered against themselves so quickly it sound as if it was laughing. 'chik-chik-chik.'

'Pikachu we lost two for two. Be careful. They will push you around.' Ash waved at Kyo that he was ready.

'Begin!' came the call from above them.

'Swift.'

Kyo quickly ordered, 'Tourmaline, smog the chamber, substitute.'

Pikachu watched two shadows float in the cloud of poison before one imploded from the swift attack. Pikachu growled at the 'chik-chik' sound from Weezing's clattering teeth. 'Thunder the gas. We need to see if it can ignite.'

Pikachu obediently launched a web of electricity at the cloud. There was a thud of energy but the cloud began to dispurse from the explosion. Tourmaline floated but his body wobbled from the impact.

'Sludgebomb the ground. Poison gas the air.' Kyo ordered. His voice was measured and the orders were given at a leisurely pace.

Tourmaline followed the same pace and calmly launched globs of the sludge across the ground creating a pattern in the grass. Ash was not able to see the field. He looked over to Kyo and admired the idea. It was one thing to control the field, another to control your opponent's pokemon. Ash never thought to try and control the other opponent. He looked down to the blanket of poisonous gas.

'Pikachu just like we trained blind folded. Find him and swift.' Ash looked over to Kyo. The older man stroked his beard at the pace of this particular fight. With such a fast pokemon like a pikachu, you had to find ways to slow him down.

Ash looked down to the clouds just as Pikachu cried that he found him. 'Quick attack after the stars. Let them guide you.'

'Cha!' Pikachu moved quickly following the points of light. The smoke parted in his wake. At one point Pikachu almost ran into the muddy poison blobs on the ground before he found his target. Ash watched as the clouds moved around in patterns of displaced air. The clouds would randomly light as Pikachu starts would move close to the top layer of the clouds.

'Tourmaline, endure everything. Curse.' Tourmaline cried in pain at the same time Pikachu cried.

'Pikachu! Thunderwave! Slow him down and try to get above the clouds!'

Pikachu panted underneath the cover. Kyo felt the fight lasted long enough. 'Tourmaline, Ignite.' Ash realized that the pokemon had not chattered his teeth during the last part of the fight. They clattered now below the cloud cover 'Chik-'. Ash knew the poison clouds Amethyst used was different than Tourmaline used. The color and thickness was too different. The explosion lifted the clouds into the air breaking apart the cover. Ash realized after a moment the explosion was from the fumes from the globs of toxic sludge. Pikachu cried and fell silent. The clouds of gas slowly began to clear, but Tourmaline did not wait for the clouds to clear. It floated down to Pikachu and rolled its body underneath Pikachu to float him above the gym floor.

Ash saw Pikachu's unconscious form sit on top of Tourmaline's head. He gently picked up and cradled his partner. When he was sure Pikachu was breathing but slightly fevered, he recalled pikachu to his pokeball. He looked up to Tourmaline. 'Thank you for bringing him out of there. I would have a hard time finding him in that.'

Tourmaline smiled with its twin mouths. 'Chik-chik-chik.'

Ash looked at the gym floor. Kyo patted Tourmaline's head. 'We'll give it a few minutes to clear out the gas Ash.'

Ash looked up to Kyo. 'Thank you Sir. You fight very differently from the other gym leaders I have faced.'

Kyo smiled. 'You said it your self. You have a lot to learn.'

Ash laughed ruefully. 'I did say that. How long have you been training this particular team?'

Kyo tilted his head at a memory. 'For at least twenty years. These ladies and gentlemen have been my partners when I was the Gym leader before Koga took over. My gems never did participate in any wars though. Praise for small miracles. We were always too far south for actual combat and I was much to old to be drafted. Fuchsia used to be the trainer wall that Viridian is now.'

Ash smiled. 'It feels that way to me.'

Ash calmly thought about this gym fight and how it differed greatly from the others. Something about this fight was truly different from the others, but he could not put his finger on it. He looked at the floor below him and was satisfied it cleared. A few weedles had gone to the grass and were snacking on the globs of poison. Ash laughed at the display and took out his pokedex.

'That's cute.' He said frankly. Janine giggled above him. Now that they were still waiting for the field to clear he looked up to see Janine laying on her stomach with her head hanging off the edge balcony above them.

'Janine isn't that dangerous? What if gas flies up there?'

Janine waved her hand at him unconcerned. 'I've been immune to most of them for years. I have to be with the number of accidents that happen.'

Kyo laughed across the field. 'She means to say she was a klutz who could not hold a pokemon with out getting poisoned.'

Ash looked up at Janine. She had a flushed face and slunk behind the floor she hung off of. In a pouted voice she said over the floor, 'Not funny.'

Ash shook his head. The field was clear. He moved his hand to his last two pokemon. He knew what came next, but was still unsure who he would send out. Snorlax, or Psyduck.

Kyo looked at the field then took out a pokeball. He was satisfied with the field as well. 'Champion of Fuchsia, Teach them the barriers of the world. Diamond, I choose you.'

The earth cracked under the pressure as a light blue Nidoqueen roared into the air. Ash looked at the pokemon for a moment. He learned a few things in the last fight. It was time to see what he could do with it.

'Snorlax, let's go!'

Snorlax landed with a groan. His eyes blinked and he yawned, '-Lax.'

'Snorlax, we won't be training today. Listen and be ready.' Snorlax nodded and faced Diamond.

'Begin!'

Ash and Snorlax looked at Diamond for a moment. Ash frowned. Now that he was not being awed, he felt it again. 'Snorlax, Ice punch.' Snorlax started to move forward. Ice gathered quickly to his hand.

'Ice punch, Acid.' Nidoqueen clamped her hand together and both hands were covered in ice before she met Snorlax and caught his fist with both of hers. She opened her mouth and sprayed a liquid that his Snorlax's chest.

'Hydropump the field! Back off and get the acid off your chest!' Snorlax pushed Diamond back and launched a hydropump at her to knock her back. He kept spraying the field before he took four quick steps and slid across the ground. The mud covered his chest and he grunted in relief when the acid stopped burning. He rolled to his feet and growled at the Nidoqueen.

Ash was watching Diamond the whole time. It wasn't so obvious for the last three fights, but Diamond was much slower than the others. 'Snorlax get back into range Dynamic Punch.' Ash watched as Kyo called for Nidoqueen to dodge the attack and use her horn to try and poison Snorlax. He avoided it on his own. Urgently Ash thought, _I need to make her move._

'Snorlax rocksmash the ground, Mudslap her leg!' Snorlax dropped to a knee in front of Diamond and the slick mud exploded into the air to cover them both. Snorlax swiped at Diamonds' leg with two fists.

Diamond gave an alarmed groan of pain before she fell to the ground. 'Diamond, Megakick.' Diamond laid on the ground but her good leg snapped at Snorlax and hit him in the belly. Snorlax body buckled at the impact but not before Snorlax punched the injured leg again with a mud covered fist. Diamond rolled away with her tail as leverage and gingerly got up. She growled at Snorlax but waited.

 _There it was again!_ 'Snorlax back up!' Snorlax complied.

 _I've seen this before._ Ash was no longer looking at the gym field. _Surge fought like this when he trained his challengers._ Ash looked at Kyo. He did not know how to describe the sudden feeling in his chest. It took Kyo a moment to realize Ash had not made a move before he looked up to Ash.

Ash moved a hand to his eyes briefly before he looked back to Kyo. His smile was sad and happy in a single look. 'Is this what it is like?'

Kyo looked at him. He was unsure what the boy meant. Ash took off his hat and wiped his eyes one more time. He looked over to Snorlax fondly before back to Kyo. His eyes still teared and his voice wavered. 'Is this what it is like to be normal? To learn from a gym leader?'

Kyo looked at the boy and was reminded that Ash never had the same lessons other trainers took for granted. Misty said to Koga that Ash was smart, but he made the most elementary mistakes. Not because he was arrogant, but because he never learned them. Kyo began to realize he still treated the boy as if he would treat any other gym challenger. It gave the boy something he may have never had before in a gym battle.

Guidance.

It was never there for any of his other gym battles was it? Ash may have been fighting at a ten badge level, but Kyo had fought him as if he was just a normal trainer. Kyo gave a slight smile. 'It is Ash. Are you ready to finish your lesson?'

Ash nodded after he was able to control himself. 'Yes Sir.'

'Snorlax, Amnesia, Submission.' Snorlax eyes went blank and he rushed Nidoqueen.

'Diamond, Super power, poison sting, poison fang. Captivate.'

Snorlax and Diamond met at the center of the room. Snoralx snapped Diamond's arm away the moment she was able to thrust energy into his body. Snorlax's body shook, but he ignored it to grip her arm. Diamond's tail snapped around. Her tail leaked poisons and she thrust it several times into Snorlax hide. Only the first one was successful. Snoralx kicked Diamond's legs underneath her again on her weak side. Her leg crumpled after the third assault to the leg. He lifted her over his shoulders just as Diamond bit him several times deeply to draw blood and inject another poison into his blood stream from her mouth.

Diamond then focused her eyes to meet Snorlax fully intending for Snorlax to freeze from the look and let the poisons knock him out. Snorlax's eyes were closed and his mind did not register the look. Snorlax flipped the two of them around and slammed Diamond into the earth. The ground shook and half dried mud kicked into the air. Diamond struggled against the grip. The air was knocked from her lungs and she tried one more time to captivate Snorlax's attention. She noticed again his eyes were still closed.

'Diamond. Hyperbeam!' Kyo called. It was the first time in the gym battle he had any urgency in his voice.

Diamond opened her mouth to gather the energy. The poisons would make Snorlax's reaction time slow to a halt with the amount of injections he received.

'Earthquake!' Ash called quickly. Snorlax arm's were slow to respond but his one good leg was still quick enough to stomp the ground and twist before it sank into the earth. The ground shook and cracked apart. Diamond sank deeper into the earth. She struggled to move. 'Kick the ground!' Ash ordered again. Snorlax tried to kick the earth but it was more like he dropped his weight on the look earth. It avalanched over Diamond the moment her hyperbeam released from her mouth. The rock exploded in every direction. But Diamond was unable to protect her self.

'Bodyslam!' Ash called. Snorlax groaned in pain. The explosion snapped him out of amnesia and he for the first time he felt the poisons burn in his veins. He staggered to stay on his feet and pushed hard with his still good leg and fell into the crevice and landed on Diamond.

Snorlax staggered to his feet and looked at Diamond. Her eyes were closed and she did not move. Snoralx got out of the crevice and fell on his butt. Ash looked at his partner who fell on his back. He recalled Snorlax the moment Janine declared his loss but with a single win. He looked at Snorlax's pokeball. 'We were able to control her. Even if it was for a moment. We were able to control where she went. Nice job Snorlax.'

Ash looked up to Kyo who smiled encouragingly at him. There was a thud beside him and he looked in time to see Janine, who jumped off the level above them reach to hug him. Ash laughed with her. One out of four matches was a huge loss, but Ash was focusing on the single victory he earned. Kyo smiled at the pair's enthusiasm.

'Ash.'

Ash looked up. 'Thank you sir for the match. We'll be ready to try again in a few days. We'll figure something out.'

Kyo nodded. After a moment he added. 'You did a good job. One down. Three to go.' With that Kyo walked out his door and it shut behind him.

Ash looked at Kyo in confusion. 'What?'

Janine looked surprised as well. 'Did just say you could keep that victory?'

They both looked at each other. 'WHAA!' They both cried in unison. Their cheers resounded in the gym as they ran down the hall to the recovery unit to heal Ash's pokemon.

A/N: I am happy to see this one posted. Work has been busy and I haven't had too much time to write. I was mostly waiting to see how the next chapter was looking before I posted this one. Fights usually tend to take up most of my time writing. I usually ground most fights in certain generations of move skills, but I felt Kyo has traveled the world, so he should know some other things not found in 'Kanto's games. It has been fun writting for his fights. Just a lot of extra work to make it sense for each of his pokemon. Thanks for the reviews guys and I am always happy to see new readers comment!

We'll be switching gears soon in the next few chapters but next chapter may either be really soon then a long wait till the following chapter, or I may just hold off on posting chapter 17 until all the crazy hours slow the hell down.


	17. Chapter 17: The Gym Challenge

Chapter 17

Ash sat on the cliff looking over the ocean. The wind was colder than usual for late winter this far south, but it was still warm enough that he could get by with a light jacket. Pikachu chittered lazily next to him and only stirred at the smell of the salt air that hit his nose. Ash's mind wandered to the next gym challenge. Ash had been at Fuchsia Gym for two weeks. He had mixed feelings about staying in one place for so long. One the one hand, he was able to face someone and really learn from them. On the other hand, he felt he had not made any progress to securing a victory in any of his challenges against Kyo. He had a few close calls, but nothing like the breakthrough he had with Snorlax.

'Ash! We are ready for you!' Ash looked over his shoulder and nodded.

'Pikapika!' Ash quickly got up but laughed as Pikachu raced back to the gym. Like his other pokemon, Pikachu was eager to win.

Ash looked at the Fuchsia Gym as it sat solemnly on top of the cliff. Like most gyms this late into the season, Fuchsia had many trainers who tried to make last minute attempts to become qualified for the new comers tournament. A few still held a slim hope of qualifying. With so many challengers making attempts in the gyms, Ash was curious how other trainers made it around the whole traveling issue. If you don't have pokemon who can fly or teleport , you were either walking or were already rich and travel was not an issue. Transportation by boat or bus were usually only reserved for the wealthy or the military.

The rest of the common folk walked.

Ash stretched his back. 'Thanks Janine. I just needed to come out here for a bit to clear my head. How were the other trainer matches?' Ash looked over to the small doors. The file of trainers had disappeared into the gym. Kyo had taken to inserting Ash's gym battles in the middle of the day to rest his pokemon for his other challengers.

Ash had specifically been assigned to fight against, Tourmaline, Topaz and Amethyst. Ash was thankful for the gesture. Ash found Kyo has trained several dozen pokemon and four of those other pokemon were also fighters who could compete for a ten badge battle. It was an added layer of difficulty Ash was not sure he could handle.

'They are going well, most of the trainers have moved on. Either to try to scramble at an easier gym or they had won.'

Ash sighed at that and skulked. 'I still want to say something about that but I am still stuck here too.'

Janine laughed at him. 'Don't let it get to you. You saw what the other trainers are fighting.'

Ash grunted to himself. Ash had started to observe several matches across his time spent at the gym. Ash had seen most rely on heavy power and type advantage to over come their obstacles. Ash was willing to admit to himself that Snorlax fell in to the former category. Ash heard the low chatter of trainers who sat in the stands to watch the bouts. Ash recognized a few town kids too. They had come by to wish him luck again before they had walked in to the gym that morning.

Ash gracefully thanked the well wishers. But he could feel the continual loses were getting to him. It started with a match with Pikachu on their second attempt. Since then, he found the pattern and struggled to get around it.

Ash found a similar problem that led to his first loss in Cinnabar Island. Against Blaine he had rigidly stuck to a order of pokemon with no thought to Blaine's pokemon. Ash was sure Janine's grandfather caught on as well. Ash had not been able to adjust in a middle of a gym battle. Ash had always been of the mind that gym battles should be quick and decisive. There shouldn't be any posturing. Misdirection was totally fine to set up for win, but gym battles should not be long drawn out exchanges.

Ash stayed silent and Janine knew that quiet look and stopped talking. Ash gripped his hands after he found that he could not win those quick exchanges any more. He was now struggling to find the follow up. Ash could not find the next step to win the battle or find the openings that were there in the heat of the fight.

Ash was happy he found out about this flaw before it hurt anyone. Kyo knew what he was doing, and he has pressured Ash try and change tactics in the middle of every fight. Ash found he struggled to observe Kyo, his pokemon and the field at the same time. He could still find bouts of inspiration. But Ash's pokemon were always punished hard if Kyo thought the attack was took weak. At least that was what Ash thought.

Ash looked up to the bamboo walls they walked around to the entrance. In his first week he had learned a lot about his pokemon fighting Kyo. But there was only one fight he had been comfortable enough to say he was close after Snorlax's win. Soon Ash was forced to focus on training everyone but Snorlax. But the large pokemon had taken it in stride. He even went so far as to cheer the rest of the team while they trained.

When Ash realized they would be there longer than a week, he had taken Snorlax aside. He showed Snorlax several ideas he thought of to try and move an opponent. Snorlax's ability to move his opponent with physical strength alone had not translated easily to the rest of his team. The rest of the team had find different ways to force an opponent to move among the other things Kyo demonstrated in his battles.

Ash realized he stopped talking and a bit awkwardly he added, 'I think I am feeling the time crunch too. One more month until the start of the new comers tournament. I know that gym challenges close next week.'

'So long as you win you will be fine Ash.' Janine reminded him. 'You started your challenge well before the dead line. So long as you win the challenge before the tournament actually starts you will be fine.'

Janine was curious why Kyo had used those pokemon as Ash's opponents. Fuchsia had many pokemon who could satisfy the ten-badge battle, but Kyo had chosen those specific ones for a reason. Janine wanted to try and figure it out, if she did break down and ask, he would make it a lesson for her. The only consolation was that Janine knew Ash was having the time of his life with these nearly daily gym battles.

'Everyone feels the pressure this time of year Ash. I have seen a few trainers break down from the stress when I was younger. I would train with you, but we can't afford your pokemon getting poisoned in training. The most I have been able to do was explain what all of the poison moves do to a target.'

Ash smiled at her and took her hand briefly to squeeze it. 'You have been a great help Janine. I think I want to try something different this time. We'll see how it goes.' Ash let her hand go as they entered the gym. Ash went his way to the competitor box.

Ash observed the crowd that had formed. Word spread that a ten badge trainer had taken up residence at Fuchsia Gym to complete the ten badge challenge. Ash had learned early on that it was pretty common for more experienced trainers to come and attempt a ten badge challenge in preparation for a promotion. What he did not realize until recently was how young he was compared to those trainers.

'Good afternoon sir.' Ash called from his side of the ring. Pikachu jumped on to his shoulder and eagerly looked around the field.

'Good afternoon Ash. Are you ready?'

'Yes sir!' Ash called he raised his arm out and Pikachu ran up his arm ready to jump down.

'Very well.' Kyo took out a pokeball from his robes. 'This will be a three on three continuing ten badge match. The battle ends when all three rounds have been completed. Go, Topaz.' The Venomoth hovered silently on Kyo's side of the ring.

'Pikachu go!' Pikachu jumped and landed onto the grassy field. Pikachu sniffed the ground while looking at the walls. The gym floor still felt small. Ash had taken to forcing his team to fight in a even smaller square field to get used to the limited space. But Ash placed that on hold for the past two days. Ash wanted to try and do something he had not really done since Cerulean. Ash always felt confident in his pokemon to be able to move the way he trained them to move. It allowed them to express themselves in their fights. That has not worked against Kyo. Ash decided to try and call every move this time. To his left he heard Janine call the start of the fight.

'Pikachu, Thunder wave.' Pikachu sparked electricity before a wave of static electricity came to life in waves across the field. 'Close your eyes and tackle.'

Kyo stroked his beard at the different tactic. 'Supersonic, confusion.'

'Quick attack left.' Pikachu hopped half a step over. The thud the echoed the room forced him to keep his ears furrowed close to his head to protect his ears. He felt the energy pass him. 'Swift below where you think Topaz is.' Pikachu launched three quick stars to the ground. 'Seven degrees to your right, twenty degrees in the air. Thunder, agility.'

'Gust, dust the field.' Kyo called in a calm gentle voice.

Pikachu heard Kyo's orders and tensed as he ran towards Topaz. 'Thunder the ground, heat it up!' Pikachu's electricity scorched the grass below Topaz. The gust began to billow out the smoke from Pikachu's attack. 'Scorch the grass below you!'

'PIKA!' Pikachu spun around in a circle and kicked up electricity from the ground in a circle before the grass was burnt. Waves of heat radiated from the ground and grass was burned into smoke. It was immediately blown away by the powder laced gust. Pikachu emerged from the cloud covered head to toe in soot. His eyes were still closed. 'Pikachu five bounds right, three forward and opened your eyes. Just like we planned!'

Kyo smiled. 'Stun spore, Psychic.'

Pikachu trusted the commands and as fast as his quick attack could carry him he moved in the pattern before he opened his eyes to spot Topaz just as he turned to release a stun spore. Pikachu's eyes turned deep blue. He released a growl that made Topaz hesitate. Pikachu locked onto where Topaz stood and closed his eyes and clamped his ears down. He launched a volley of swift and went under where he thought Topaz floated and launched a thunder into the air.

Pikachu felt the wind feed back against his fur. He jumped into the air and used a quick attack into the air and was rewarded with a rebound against the other pokemon.

Pikachu resisted the urge to breath. He could not allow himself to breathe anything when he hit Topaz. With every hit, the Venomoth released poisonous dust. The soot helped dampen the effect on his nose all the while his nose flared while he resisted the itch to sneeze.

Pikachu could picture Ash from memory: 'One bound left, Center!'

Pikachu moved left and jumped to where he still thought Topaz hovered. He was rewarded with a explosion of dust from the venomoth's body. Topaz cried in pain and wobbled with his wings attempting to recover.

Pikachu remembered the other calls Ash told him to move into. The attacks had to be continuous and never slow down. 'Thunder, double team, center.' Ash and Pikachu were forced to come up with this strategy. Psyduck could move the poison away from him, Gengar could literally phase through it all. Pidgeot could in some degree control the air currents to move around the poison. But Pikachu had no options to avoid the clouds on the ground. Along with Snorlax, Pikachu was one of the only two team members that were firmly planted on the ground.

Pikachu trained for a few days to attack while he was blinded from all the smoke and poison clouds he had to run through. Pikachu had to keep his ears furrowed close to his head in case Topaz released another supersonic sound wave that would make him stagger and disoriented. With Gengar as a practice dummy Pikachu had to learn how to fight with a near sensory depravation he experienced against Kyo and his team.

Pikachu landed and launched himself forward again into Topaz. After twenty seconds, Pikachu nearly tumbled to the ground. He had expected land against Topaz's body. Pikachu quickly bounded back to where he thought was his trainer's side and carefully raised his ears and opened an eye.

'Good job Pikachu!' Pikachu looked over to Topaz in time to see a red beam encircle him.

'PIKA!' Pikachu cheered. His blackened head looked up to Ash who waved and cheered at him. Pikachu was recalled to his ball and released to a hug from Ash.

'That was just like we practiced nice job! We just need two more!'

'Chik-chick-chik'

Ash recalled Pikachu and looked over to Kyo. He had already released his next challenge.

'I am ready when you are Ash.' Kyo called. Tourmaline floated above the gym floor one head turned slightly to look to Ash. Ash smiled at the Weezing.

'Let's go Psyduck.'

Psyduck let his arms rest to his sides. He eyed the Tourmaline respectfully. The two had gotten on well on their recovery days.

'Psyduck we got one. Let's try for two.'

'Tourmaline, start it off with a smokescreen. Fill the field.' Ash looked up to Kyo and sighed to himself at the loss of vision.

'Psyduck, Icy wind. Control the smoke screen.' Psyduck sat in the middle of the field and swayed back and forth. The smoke screen clouds slowly began to move along an air current around the Gym. Ash called out, 'Make it heavy.' The freezing wind condensed into a blizzard that pelted Tourmaline.

Kyo smiled the subtle shifts in the attack. 'Tourmaline, Haze.' Tourmaline began to inhale large amounts of frozen air.

'Psyduck, psychic.'

Tourmaline exhaled a large ray of the frozen air at Psyduck. It effectively jammed Psyduck's attack.

'Fireblast.' Tourmaline exhaled again around chattering teeth. The fire sucked up the freezing air from the cloud of frozen air and expanded to cover the gym floor and the stands with a fine spray of brown water vapor. 'Find and curse him.'

'Psyduck, push! That haze was laced with poison!' Psyduck made a bubble of energy around his body and pushed the mist away from his body. His body had instantly began to fever after the haze exploded into a mist.

Psyduck focused and when he realized he could keep going, he pushed to the gym walls. Tourmaline grunted and the walls rattled from the impact when he was caught in the push. 'Psychic!' Ash called urgently.

Tourmaline finally found his target with the cleared smoke and both sets of eyes glowed and focused on Psyduck. To the birds credit Psyduck did not flinch from the attack. But the poison and the curse were slowly adding up.

'Psyduck you got to endure it! One final push buddy!' Ash slapped the railing as he encouraged Psyduck. The little duck had to shut is eyes to concentrate. Ash recognized Psyduck was in no condition to do a simultaneous attack.

Tourmaline floated in the air calmly as he focused on the curse. Chik-chik-chik were the only sounds as both Tourmaline and Psyduck entered a battle of wills. Psyduck tried desperately to ravage Tourmaline's primitive mind. Tourmaline simply focused his dark energy on Pysduck and waited for the poisons to knock him out.

Ash did not notice the claps that surrounded him and Kyo when Psyduck collapsed on the ground. He just looked at Tourmaline who calmly floated higher into the air and allowed his teeth to clack.

'Chik-chik-chik'

-o-

Ash slumped on the grass in front of Psyduck. He had hoped he had made a bigger break through but at least one win was enough for now. Ash looked over and went through Psyducks' feathers. Tourmaline and Amethyst were both brutal in their revenge for the win against Topaz.

'Well Pikachu it looks like you are going to be target practice for the rest of them.'

'Pikachu.' Pikachu groaned before he fell flat on his back. Ash laughed as Pikachu continued to chitter at him.

'Just be thankful I was lucky to match up and win Snorlax with Diamond. Can you imagine if you had to fight against her in that small ring?'

Psyduck and Pidgeot groaned with Pikachu as they all thought of that possibility. Gengar laughed from inside Ash's shadow. Ash stood back up satisfied that neither Psyduck nor Pidgeot were too injured from the last attempt. 'It looks like Kyo went easy on us.' Pikachu sneezed a laugh at him. 'Haha, I get it. Not easy, just different. Every fight he has brought something new to us.' Ash let the humor fade while thinking about it. Psyduck tugged on his pants to get his attention.

Ash looked down and smiled at him. He still couldn't hear Psyduck but he felt the warmth again when he was around his pokemon. On off days, when he sat on the cliff, he could just make himself believe he could feel them again. Maybe if he Mewtwo never found him, in time everything would come back naturally. Ash liked that thought.

Ash shook his head and moved that thought to the back of his mind. His second attempt he had got careless thinking about what would happen after he won. And his team paid for it dearly.

Kyo was relentless.

'Congrats on your second bout win Ash.' Ash was brought back to reality at the voice. He turned and waved to the young man. He was easily two years older than Ash and had started training this year as well.

'Thanks Jordan. Congrats on your badge. Where are you headed to now?'

'Vermillion! There are four gyms there and Sandslash just evolved. We are ready for Lieutenant Surge.' Ash hid the pained expression of Jordan's admission.

'I only ever fought Surge my self there. What else is there?'

Jordan laughed. 'Hell if I know. The pokedex only shows the towns and number of gyms outside the main eight.' Jordan took out his pokedex and pulled up Vermillion City's information. Ash smiled at it. He had tried not to look too much into the cities them selves outside of if it had a major gym.

Jordan navigated the menu's and pulled up the map. 'I'll see if I can get my last two gyms there. Six days left man!' Ash cheered him.

'I hope you make it.' Ash said honestly. He stretched and noticed his pokemon were sitting idle. Ash waved at them to start cleaning up their mess to head back inside. The group started running around and Gengar dove with Psyduck into Ash's backpack for something.

Ash exhaled an exasperated sigh. 'How were you getting there? I didn't think you had a flying pokemon.'

Jordan gave self satisfied smirk. 'I got a boat ticket! Kyo said he gives the winner of his gym challenge a ticket if they won a badge. I'll leave tonight and get arrive at Vermillion early tomorrow morning. We're lucky Fuschia does it, tickets are spendy and if someone didn't get one, they would be stuck here. I just wanted to wish you luck one more time before I leave. I'll see you at Indigo League if we both make it!' Ash waved as Jordan started walking down the steps that led to the city. Ash wondered how everything would have changed if he had never caught Pidgeot.

Psyduck pointed to the gym. Ash looked up but saw no one. Ash noted the sun was getting close to dusk and realized what Psyduck wanted. 'Let's go inside guys. It may be time to start making dinner.' Ash started his walk towards the gym.

Ash's pokemon trailed behind him while they all laughed and chatted to themselves. Ash turned to see what Snorlax released a belly laugh over. The pokemon had found an empty pokeball from Ash's backpack and Snorlax was playing with it. Ash was about to warn him it was going to break before it snapped loudly. The team started laughing as they entered the gym.

The team started playing with some of the poison pokemon who lounged in the courtyard. Ash looked at them briefly then went inside.

'We're back.' Ash called into the gym. Kyo was on the level above him and greeted the young man with a wave before walking further inside. Ash waved back and stopped in the middle of the gym field. The field was a simple grass field surrounded by bamboo lined walls.

Really, Ash was not sure how else he could use the gym floor as an advantage. Psyduck and Gengar had tried to use the upturned earth to their advantages with no avail. The idea to block out the poisons worked for pikachu. But Pidgeot was pretty ineffective over all. He was just too vulnerable to the gas that Tourmaline and Amethyst released. Gengar could form into a formless cloud... Ash pursed his lips at the thought. That had merit.

Ash's stomach growled at him. He ignored it for now. Psyduck was definitely tempted to refine his energy and use it like Mewtwo did, but that would not help him here. Psyuck already had one incident within Kanto. Ash forbade him from another attempt to focus his energy like that unless it was a life or death emergency.

Ash kicked the ground and smiled at the scorch marks. They were not something that could be repaired over night. Those would brown the grass for a few months. Ash wondered at that. There were plenty of fire pokemon that fought Kyo. Why are there no scorch marks? Why did only his electricity burn the ground?

Ash knelt down and looked at the marks themselves. The roots. The grass was pretty weird so close to the ocean. Ash was sure it had to be resilient to over heating since he had never seen brown patches of grass like the ones he found back home. The roots in this grass was thick like a woven carpet. The grass was more like weeds than anything else. Ash nodded to himself satisfied with the information. It was something to play with after dinner.

Ash joined Janine around the steamer. She had started making bean buns. Ash made his way to the rice cooker and noticed the food was almost done. He set about looking for garnish to put on all of it. Janine winked at him as she passed him a jar of pickled plum. Ash thanked her before the two finished setting the table ready.

'I'll be right back. I want to make sure Snorlax hasn't eaten the pokeblocks yet.' Ash and Janine laughed at the distance sound of the Snorlax. Ash wiped his hands with a rag and walked down the deck to his team. 'You all get your food?' Ash looked over to Psyduck who waved happily.

'Psyduck has been very diligent in his duties Ash.' Kyo offered. He set down the trays of the food he had prepared for the gyms' pokemon.

Ash smiled at Psyduck. 'Good job. Go get some food and rest up tomorrow guys.' There was round of cheers before the group resumed their dinner.

Kyo waited for Ash and the two walked into the building. Ash felt tired already thinking about tomorrows training. Kyo frowned at the lines that formed around Ash's eyes. 'You know, it might be best if you rest for a day before continuing. You and your pokemon must be tired.'

Ash exhaled. 'I would love to really. But my team has already taken a longer than intended vacation. With the time limit I am not sure I will be able to make it.'

Kyo nodded. 'It couldn't be helped I'm afraid. Mr. Goodshow nearly canceled the Indigo League this year. They only compromise was to have it move up six weeks.'

Ash nodded. 'The last Indigo League Tournament in Kanto. It's hard to believe that Kanto is going to restructure everything.'

It was a wave of desperation that egged all of the trainers on. Most thought they would have nearly three months to complete their journey. The announcement had effectively destroyed those plans as well as possible careers.

'Jordan had said he was going to Vermillion in attempt to get his last two gyms. A lot of trainers will not be so lucky to be able to travel so quickly.'

Kyo nodded. 'A few will likely not even get the notice if they are in a mountain range or out at sea. The Pokedex Net Work is not as wide range as we would like.'

'I hope he gets his badges. I actually did not realize there were so many gyms in Vermillion.'

Kyo smiled. 'That bay is far more hazardous than most people realize. It's a spawning grown for many types of pokemon, and not just the sea faring ones either. The fresh water that runs into the ocean is a prime grounds for many pokemon and it is large enough to accommodate them all. The Ground gym, Ice gym and Flying gym of Vermillion have always provided support to the Electric Gym during the defense of the city.'

Ash hummed at that as they entered the dinning room. 'Do they all offer badges to trainers if they win their challenge?'

Kyo laughed at Ash's sour expression. 'They do. But really, it is usually frowned upon to earn so many badges in one location if those are your proof for earning your way into the Indigo League. The Trainers Journey is supposed to be that. The cities you visit, the gyms you see and the leaders you fight against are your proof that you have gone into the world and learned.'

Ash smiled at that information but caught himself as Kyo added, 'But that is not to say that choosing your battles will not achieve the same goals. Many young trainers have skipped our gym before because of the difficulty. It is nothing new, and it is a sound plan if they know they would waste precious time on a gym challenge they were not prepared to complete.'

Ash nodded. 'Do all towns have a gym?' Ash asked curious at the whole system.

'Yes, Even your Pallet Town has a gym leader. She is a scrawny young woman named Aeko who is a researcher and works for Professor Oak.' Ash looked at him clearly surprised. He never knew. Although it makes sense with the number of pokemon both wild and trainer owned pokemon who wander around the region.

The conversation ended as Kyo sat down next to Janine and the three gave a thank you for the meal.

-o-

The next day Ash stood in his corner staring at the field. He watched the other trainers attempt the gym challenge at their level and wondered at some of their choices. A few had push hard with the type advantage. Kyo had patiently worked with them to think through their options and guide the challengers. Ash smiled thinking back to his first fight with Kyo. He turned to Gengar and Psyduck who watched quietly. He knew Pidgeot had taken a perch on the roof to watch the matches as well. Ash had taken to view these matches as a form of relaxation after the first week. It allowed him to refocus seeing that others could win against Kyo. It did not matter at what level those wins happened. Just the fact Kyo was able to judge when a trainer had earned a badge put Ash at ease.

Ash rubbed his eyes and stood to stretch as a young boy Ash's age was declared the winner of his third badge. The boy would not be a contender to this years Indigo League Tournament. But the boy liked training. Ash smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. It did not matter to him where he was on his trainer's journey. Ash wondered what that was like to not feel the need to reach a goal in such a limited time.

Ash walked to the circle and passed the boy. He smiled at him. 'Congratulations Andy.' Andy looked at him in surprise. The boy mumbled something incoherent. Ash continued to smile at him politely as he passed.

Andy watched him go to the competitors box. Ash had intimidated him. The first time Andy entered the gym was in the middle of one of Ash's bouts. Andy was ready to turn around and flee before Janine intercepted him and explained exactly what Ash was attempting to do. Andy had taken a few days at the gym to watch before he mustered the courage to challenge Gym Leader Kyo. He was glad he did. Kyo was nice. Andy felt like he learned a lot of things from Kyo.

'Gengar, your up!' Ash called in a commanding voice.

Andy had won his badge. But as he watched Ash's back when he entered the challenge box, he felt like he could still learn more by staying here for a little while longer.

-o-

Gengar landed on the ground and tested his foot against the grass before he laughed. He looked over to Amethyst. The two had taken to eagerly go head to head. Kyo had said Amethyst liked how Gengar had as much fun in the battles as he did. Ash shook his head while he looked over head. It was near dusk. Now was a good time as any to test this. 'Gengar. Commands only. Listen and wait.'

Gengar laughed a 'Gen-gen.' before he jumped away from Amethyst and stood closer to Ash's side of the gym. The Muk gurgled a greeting at his opponent.

'This is a continuing ten badge match. It continues until the remaining two challenges have been completed. Let's get this going Ash!'

'Yes sir!' Ash called while he pulled his hat backwards. 'Gengar shadow meld!' Gengar sank into the shadows against the wall on Ash's side of the gym.

Kyo called out to Amethyst, 'Sunny day.' Amethyst gathered energy in its body and it split apart before collapsing on its self again. A ball of energy rose into the air and exploded into a bright light that illuminated the sky.

Ash cursed under his breath. There goes the shadows he was hoping for. 'Double team, fire punch!' Gengar moved past the instinctual flinch from the direct sunlight. His body split into four copies. Each gathered energy that burst into flames in their hands. Each doppelganger charged the Muk.

'Acid Armor, swallow the first one, push the other three.' Amethyst reached out quickly to the nearest one to pull him into his body. It blinked out of existence before Amethyst rounded on the others. The muk's body spiked into poles that pierced two other copies before the real Gengar was pushed back. Ash recognized this pattern. Kyo was about to order a large attack.

'Disperse! Sink!' Ash called urgently. Gengar laughed as his body faded into a gaseous form and sank into the ground.

Kyo narrowed his eyes before he looked down to Amethyst. 'Shock wave the field.' Amethyst turned in on himself before his body spun quickly and released a massive amount of electricity. Smoke rose from the ground from the sudden electricity burst. Ash stepped back from the sudden explosion of electricity.

'Gengar the vapor! Hypnosis!'

'Knock him back when he shows up, Fireblast him on his rebound.' Amethyst looked around for Gengar. The rising clouds of heat off the grass began to disrupt into swirling patterns before they reflected bursts of light from the sunny day. Amethyst staggered and snarled at the light. His eyes turned in on them selves and hsi body slumped into a deep sleep. 'Gengar, nightmare!'

Gengar's hands formed in mid air from the air vapor. His mouth followed after. The three body parts eagerly ate the sleeping Muk's mind. Amethyst groaned in his sleep.

Kyo sighed and took out his pokeball. 'That's enough Ash. I forfeit this round. You predicted my moves well.' Kyo commented while he spared a glance to the disembodied arms and mouth. The rest of Gengar's body came into view but still remained semi transparent from the sunny day. Gengar hopped up to Ash and his body began to turn much darker into a solid mass now that he was outside of the artificial sunlight. Kyo smiled at something he had missed. 'The sunny day helped his gaseous form stay invisible.'

Ash nodded while lifting Gengar into the air in victory. The gengar took Ash's cap and placed it on his head to cheer at Kyo. 'That sunlight was a big risk.' Ash admitted. He looked up to the ball of light. Any chances of taking advantage of the dusk shadows were shot down from it. 'Any kind of sunlight will hurt him. We just had to make sure we ended it quickly or we would not be able to recover.'

Kyo smiled before he released his final pokemon. 'Tourmaline show them something beautiful.'

'Psyduck, go!'

Tourmaline floated high in the air clattering his teeth in a nearly silent laugh. Psyduck had taken one of his losses personally and was very adamant about redeeming himself. Psyduck copied Tourmaline's stance and began to effortlessly float in the air. 'This is the final challenge for your ten badge challenge. Ready?'

Ash smiled as he yanked his hat back from Gengar. Gengar had decided to stay and watch Psyduck from Ash's booth instead of from the stands like the rest of his pokemon. 'Yes sir.'

Kyo gave Janine an amused look. Janine had sat next to Pikachu in the bleachers. She stood up and shouted excitedly, 'Begin!'

Ash exhaled and called, 'Barrier. Psychic.' Ash wanted to keep Tourmaline contained and separated from Psyduck. Now he had to just try and experiment in how to do it. Psyduck's head bobbed back and fourth as he made a bubble of energy around himself and focus'ed on the weezing's mind. Tourmaline grunted at the impact.

'Tourmaline, Shadow Ball the barrier, torment Psyduck's mind back.' The Weezing focused both sets of eyes on Psyducks and worked pass the psychic attack. Tourmaline squinted both eyes as they bleed to a deep red. Both sets of teeth began its litany. It was something Ash had only seen once before.

'Clack-Clack-Clack.'

Psyduck faulted inside his bubble. The continuing clack-clack sound from Weezing's teeth made him shudder. Ash saw he had lost focus. 'Calm your mind Psyduck. Ignore the sound and Hydropump. Make him stop using his mouth.'

Psyduck flinched around the continuous clacking sound and managed to fire a hydropump at Tourmaline's larger mouth. The smaller face continued before Psyduck started alternating the hydro pump to force the Weezing to wobble in the air. Jets of air burst out of Tourmaline's many craters to steady himself.

'Keep that up Psyduck! Barrier your self. Keep him off balance.' Psyduck fired another series out hydropumps with renewed vigor. Each one was precise and powerful. Weezing was slowly focusing more on keeping himself steady against the attacks. The only time Tourmaline came close to a loss was when Psyduck pinned him to a wall.

Kyo called, 'Sludge bomb the water, take the poison in and Poison gas!'

Ash watched as the water Psyduck had fired turned into a deep sickly purple as it washed over Tourmaline. The poison gas pokemon opened his mouths and welcomed the intake of water. His body bulged from the intake before all of his pours opened. What started as a small amount of poison gas erupted into a slurry of poison across the field. Tourmaline wanted to focus on breaking Psyduck's barrier. Kyo knew that as soon as Psyduck was knocked into the slurry, the fumes would likely knock him out on their own.

Tourmaline switched his focus on flushing the water out of his body to Psyduck. Ash saw his chance.

'SWITCH!' Psyduck's eyes glowed a shade of cobalt blue that enveloped both himself and Tourmaline. Tourmaline found himself displaced inside the small barrier that was made for a smaller pokemon. The volume of gas and water filled up the space quickly before it stopped. Tourmaline's body bounced off one of the walls as water pressure began to crush the pokemon. Ash's eyes widen as he saw cracks rip across Tourmaline's body from the water pressure. More liquid came from Tourmaline's body but it was definitely not poison or water.

'Release!' Ash called just as fast. Ash felt his heart sink moments later.

Tourmaline fell to the floor but slowed thanks to Psyduck's quick interception. Kyo's partner panted and water spurted from his craters. Cracks fanned around Tourmaline's dual balled body. The weezing's pair of mouths laid gaping open and slowly half closed and opened from the impact inside the small barrier square. Ash looked over to Kyo who nodded in agreement. Both Kyo and Ash jumped down from their booths and started walking around the blobs of poison on the grass. Ash began to feel a slight fever but ignored it as he moved closer to Psyduck and Tourmaline. Both Ash and Kyo knelt around Tourmaline who still laid still.

'I am sorry Sir.' Ash said said helplessly. The pokemon's eyes lolled around blankly. Kyo caressed his partner's head.

'I know Ash. I will be taking him to Nurse Joy now. I'll speak to you soon.' Psyuck levitated Tourmaline. Ash looked at him, and exhaled a sigh of relief at Psyduck's determined gaze on Tourmaline.

'Psyduck wants to come with you, is that alright?'

Kyo patted the duck pokemon. 'That will be fine. I thank you for the aid. Let's go Psyduck.' Psyduck quacked and levitated both Tourmaline and himself and followed the older man.

Ash watched him go. Janine dismissed the crowd who had watched the day's matches. A few trainers had wanted to challenge Kyo as well, but they left when they saw Kyo was leaving to go to the pokemon center. When they were gone she spotted Ash was still standing in the field. The gym pokemon had gone to work cleaning off the poison of the field. One weedle had taken it upon himself to clean Ash from the poison residue he stood in. Ash ignored the tingling feeling. The sunny day had passed and it was well past dusk. The night sky gleamed with a number of stars. Ash felt the air cool and he exhaled his frustration.

'Whats wrong Ash?'

Ash turned to Janine as she walked over a caterpie who was cleaning the entrance. 'Just learning you can't plan for everything. I am happy Tourmaline was still breathing. But I really hurt him with that call.'

Ash resisted to say fatally injure the pokemon. Mostly because he was not sure if he did or not. The plan had only been to entrap Tourmaline in the cube and just collapse it in a shock of air pressure to knock him out. It was pure instinct at seeing an opening that made Ash call for the switch when Tourmaline started to release that poison attack. The barrier would have held the poison and if it went according to plan he Psyduck would have safely been able to create a shock wave in the box that could knock out Tourmaline. The water slurry that Kyo's pokemon expelled was not part of the plan. Ash felt that the trap nearly killed him.

Janine hugged him quickly. 'It looks like you been decontaminated.' Janine picked up and hugged spinel, the weedle who had focused on cleaning Ash.

'Thank you Spinel. Janine, I am going to go out and check at the pokemon center.'

Janine gave him an encouraging smile. 'Go for it Ash. I'll have dinner made and waiting for you both.

-o-

Ash ran his hand along the side of the cliff face as he started down the steps along the cliff side to the town. Ash had a feeling Psyduck had teleported Kyo and Tourmaline. He could not see them ahead down the many flights of zig zagging steps.

The sun had baked the cliff wall all day before it moved past the horizon. Ash moved along the wall as it continued to radiate heat against him. Ash was relieved when he was in town where it was cooler. His mind was still blank about the fight. Everything came back to him when he spotted Psyduck sitting on the Nurse Joy's desk, but there was no Kyo or Nurse Joy.

'Hey Psyduck, how is it?' Psyduck tilted his head slightly and then quacked a positive sound. Ash allowed himself a relieved smile. 'Thank you for going with Kyo Psyduck. I guess we should just wait.' Ash leaned against the counter and stayed in companionable silence while they waited.

Ash's mind had wandered a good distance before the door opened to the entrance. Janine walked in concerned. Ash looked at the clock and had not realized how much time has past. It was almost mid-night. Ash move away from the counter stiff from staying still for so long. He looked to Psyduck who simply swayed and silently quacked in place. Ash left him to look around with his mind and walked up to Janine.

'I was worried when no one ever came back. I attempted to call the center but no one answered.' Ash moved his hand to pat his pocket. Janine pulled out his pokedex from her pocket. 'You left it at the challengers box. It took me a few minutes to track the ringing when I called you.'

Ash reddened before he took it. 'Thank you. I haven't heard anything yet. Psyduck seemed to think it would be ok, but that was four hours ago.'

A chansey poked her head out and waved at them. Ash smiled at the pokemon. 'We are both waiting to see how Tourmaline is doing.' Chansey nodded and walked back inside. Janine looked at the swinging door Chansey just used.

Ash added helpfully, 'Chansey has been occasionally popping her head out to see if anyone else has come in. I haven't seen Nurse Joy at all. It's making me worried.'

Janine wrapped her arms around her self. Tourmaline had been a pokemon she knew as far as she could remember.

Ash began to mentally zone out after a while. It was getting late and he was feeling drowsy. He snapped to attention when the doors swung and Kyo walked out. Janine ran up to him and hugged him. 'Is everything ok?'

'It is, the damage went deeper than we thought. It was not life threatening, but it was delicate work to make sure Tourmaline did not have any lasting affects. We may still have to retire him.' Kyo looked to Ash who slumped his shoulders and bowed his head.

'I am sorry Sir.'

Kyo patted Janine's shoulder before he walked over to Ash. Kyo waited patiently until Ash finally raised his head to look at him. Kyo observed the boy. Ash looked distraught. Kyo gave a stroke to his beard before he folded his hands into his long sleeves of his robes.

'These things happen Ash. Tourmaline knew the risks and has happily fought next to me for decades. I will remain here, but you two should go back to the gym and rest. I will see you both in the morning.' Kyo walked back inside the doors to see to his partner.

Ash gave a frustrated growl as he scratched his head.

-o-

Ash sat on a bamboo chair that over looked the cliff and ocean. Koga was right all those months ago, this was a good spot to sit and think. The morning passed by quickly with no word from Kyo. The man had returned with Tourmaline, but the two had sequestered themselves into a training room for the day. Janine had turned away a number of trainers for the day as well.

Ash smiled slightly when Janine passed by the door entrance. She had been annoyed Nurse Joy had informed the trainers that Kyo would not take challenges due to a pokemon injury. Janine found she had to handle the well wishers in town as well as turn away challengers all morning.

'Pikachu?' Ash exhaled as his first partner peeked into the door to look for him. Ash waved over his shoulder for Pikachu to come over. Pikachu chaa'ed at him comfortably from Ash's lap. Ash started to pet Pikachu still thinking over all of his gym matches. He had done it, even if it ended on a sour note. He had completed his eight gym battle challenges. The minimum to enter the Indigo League. He did not feel like he wanted to celebrate the victory.

Pikachu perked an ear up before he jumped off Ash's lap and jumped to the railing to look downwards.

'Be careful Pikachu, I don't want you to fall.' Pikachu sneezed at the salt air rose his nose.

'Pika-pi!' Pikachu called. Ash sighed as he got up and looked over the railing. Slowly but surly there was something was floating to the balcony. Ash could make out Psyduck sitting on Pidgeot's back.

'What are you carrying Pidgeot?' Ash called down to them. Pidgeot cooed and flapped his arms harder. Ash suddenly noticed Psyduck was helping him lift something.

'Lax.' Ash looked at the trio. Snorlax had a contented smile on his face and his was swinging his arms around excitedly. 'Snorlax!' he cried trying to kick and swing his arms more at the sight of his trainer.

Ash started to laugh and kept laughing as the three unsteadily swung against the air currents that ran up the cliff side. At some point Ash felt himself leaning against the railing. Gengar sat down next to Pikachu and laughed with Ash before Pikachu joined in. Ash wiped his eyes. He had not laughed that hard in a while. Ash just looked at the three air borne pokemon adn soaked in the care his family had for him.

'I get it. Meet me out side the gym. I'll be down in a second.' The group of pokemon cheered and Psyduck and Pidgeot concentrated to lift and steady Snorlax higher into the air and over the gym.

Janine waved at him when he was at the entrance. She sat at the gates to wait to see if anyone else would come by. 'I saw a flying Snorlax just a moment ago. It looks like he landed over at your corner.' Janine waved him off with a smile. Ash thanked her and ran outside.

Ash stopped and looked at his pokemon. They all looked at him expectantly. 'Thank you guys. We ended all on a low point yesterday. But it's time to refocus. Psyduck let's review that trap.' Ash wanted to make sure nothing like that happens again.

-o-

Kyo joined Ash and Janine for dinner that night. 'Thank you for your patience Ash. Tourmaline is fully recovered but it may take some time to determine how fit he will be for future bouts.' Ash stood up and walked to the elder man.

'I am relieved to hear it Sir.'

Kyo pulled out a badge from his sleeves. 'I am proud to present you with the Soul Badge. A formal invitation to the Indigo League Tournament should be sent to you in a couple of days. You still have a few weeks before it begins.' Ash smiled at the idea. He securely placed his badge in his badge case before he moved to sit down.

Ash seemed to hesitate before he thought better of what he was going to say, 'Thank you Kyo.'

Kyo gave the boy a graceful bow. 'What do you plan to do in the mean time?'

Ash exchanged a look with Janine before he turned back to Kyo. 'I am going to train and prepare. I think I will start to look for a sixth member. I am comfortable enough with my current team. It is a good time to look for another partner.'

Kyo nodded at Ash's assessment. 'Very well, I wish you luck where ever you go Ash. I know Koga feels the same. I spoke to him briefly regarding our match. He was happy with your growth at Fuchsia City Gym.' Ash gave a grateful smile before the three started their dinner.

-o-

Pidgeot kept his body low with his wings spread. His eyes were on the sky. He was eager to take off. Janine gave a sigh to his left. He fluffed his feathers in annoyance but kept his stance. Pidgeot would be ready to take off when Ash was secure on his back. There was a shuffle again but Pidgeot chose to stay stare at the sky. This was the longest they had stayed in one place and Pidgeot was ready to fly. Just a few feet away, Ash and Janine were still in a hug.

Finally Ash let go. 'I'm sorry you can't come along.'

Janine squeezed his hand before she took a step back. 'I know. You be careful Ash.' Ash nodded before he fastened his harness to Pidgeot.

'Pidgeot choose a direction for us.' Pidgeot cawed and took to the air. He wasted no time to pick up speed and height. Pidgeot felt the tug of Ash's harness against his breast. It gave a confidence to know he could go faster. It took Pidgeot twenty seconds to break the sky barrier and ride the fast moving air currents. Ash gripped the harness. Pidgeot's rigid body vibrated against the wind for a moment before he steadied. Ash and Pidgeot mindlessly flew. Ash had no destination in mind. Be had wanted something remote and the flying pokemon had delivered.

Pidgeot had chosen a craggy area with a high plateau. Heat radiated off the red rocks when they landed. Ash thought they have must be far west and south if they were still in Kanto. Pidgeot landed in the shade of a tall rock formation. Ash released all his pokemon.

'Alright guys, let's set up camp. I want us to be pretty independent for a while. We'll need water and drywood.' Ash set about organizing the camp. Pikachu and Psyduck set out to look for water and returned shortly after. Pikachu scratched what looked like a stream on the ground not far away from them. But it looked like they would have to fly down into the valley for it. Ash saw a shadow move on the ground but quickly realized it was just Pidgeot who took a perch on the rock formation to look out for wild pokemon. Gengar sat with Snorlax. Gengar would not be much of a help until evening, and Snorlax was too lumbering to help with setting up something like a camp. Ash had set up a fire and a slow porridge that would take some time to simmer.

Ash sat still and finally exhaled. He stared at the fire and felt the tension of the last few weeks drain from him. After everything that has happened, he finally had a chance to just look at the block. Ash closed his eyes. The violet mass felt like it sat behind his eyes and nose like he was constantly congested and it made him feel like it was always hard to breathe.

Ash ignored his pokemon and took the rest of the day to poke and prod it. He had not spent any amount of time to examine it on his own. At first, Ash was too disturbed at the sudden loss of his connection with his pokemon. Since then Agatha and the small statue had helped quiet down the presence. Even being near Gengar helped quiet down the energy.

Ash inhaled and exhaled deeply. It still felt like it blocked his breath. He had to remind himself it was not the case when he noticed his breath became too shallow. Ash opened his eyes. He was not surprised Mewtwo sat at the camp site. Ash observed him while Mewtwo seemed to be communicating to Snorlax and Gengar. He turned to Ash with a barely audible 'mew'.

Ash exhaled. 'Hello Mewtwo.'

 _Hello Ash._

A/N: Well it finally happened, I had to cut a chapter in half. I am sorry for the delayed chapter. I wanted to send this out before vacation, but it just was not ready. I am happy I waited. A few key ideas for later chapters kinda sprinkled them selves in this version of chapter 17 that were not there before I left for vacation. At least I am already half way done with Chapter 18.

Thank you all for your reviews. I want to especially thank Yukilumi and Pikachewy1 for their deeper reviews and thoughts on the chapters and the writing as a whole.

Thanks for the correction Eureka!


	18. Chapter 18: Choices

Chapter 18

The flames in the camp fire danced in circles in Mewtwo's presence.

Asg could not stop the smile that spread on his face. This felt familiar. Mewtwo allowed Ash's body a moment to adjust to his. Ash felt a warmth like the camp fire radiate off the psychic pokemon.

 _ _You remember what it feels like.__ Mewtwo thought more to himself than to Ash. His eyes relaxed in a sign of relief. __You have that look.__

Ash's face fell at the memory. His pokemon gave the two a bit of personal space. Snorlax's stomach became Pikachu's, Gengar's and Psyducks couch. Psyduck had given them the mental image of a long wait. They silently got comfortable.

'I forgot.' Ash felt sad as he tried to think of an old memory. 'I didn't even remember what it felt like to be near any of them.' Ash waved at the group as they settled down. He chuckled to himself as Snorlax huffed and it made the group grip his fur in an attempt not to fall off. Only Psyduck was not successful and fell with an alarmed quack.

'But it is slowly coming back.' Ash voice brightened at the reality and truth of those words. Ash looked at his team. He had always been able to pick them out in a crowd. It was just one of those things he never realized until he couldn't do it anymore.

He had tried his best to describe the feeling to his mom. He never felt he could convey it well until Gary gave him the analogy as if someone suddenly became color blind. Ash noticed all of the small things he could not make out. When Ash looked at his team, he could not pick out the details he knew were there. It was as if he suddenly couldn't remember what they looked like or worse, he was looking at strangers. Ash felt his chest tighten at the influx of memories that were pulled to the forefront of his mind.

 _ _I have learned much from you.__ Another memory pulled into Ash's mind of a trip he took when he was very young.

Ash closed his eyes against the faint purple hue that surrounded him. A small amused laugh escape his lungs. 'You absorbed more than just my lessons with Psyduck.'

 _Mewtwo's warm melodic voice responded,_ _ _You had transferred almost all of your memories since you became a trainer. When I left you on that island, my mind was too stressed to realized how much I absorbed.__

Ash blinked against the energy that rolled over his face and felt like it was getting into his eyes. He glanced to Pikachu and Gengar who had patiently stood still waiting for them. He smiled at them encouragingly before he realized everything felt wrong. 'Mewtwo?'

 _ _Look again Ash.__

Ash looked again and he had somehow missed the bodies of Mewtwo and himself sitting across from each other, frozen in a pose of out reached hands. 'How long have we been like this?'

Mewtwo closed his eyes but Ash felt a comfort brush against his back. _For some time now. What I did for Psyduck hurt him greatly even if he did not voice it. I am attempting to keep you occupied so you don't feel he pain._

Ash processed the words and realized how slow his thoughts were. Ash willed himself not to panic and the memory of sitting down across Mewtwo an stretching his hand out to the pokemon came back to him.

 _ _Ash I am going to ask you to concentrate for a moment. It might make this easier if you can sense what I am doing.__

Ash felt as if his body was moving inside his own skin as he mentally took a seat in front of Mewtwo. 'What do you want me to do?'

 _ _I am going to ask you to remember and feel.__ Mewtwo laughed in his mind at the confusion he felt in reply. __You will understand.__

Ash relaxed his shoulders and let his surroundings fall away into darkness that enveloped him.

-o-

The first moments were hazy. Like when he spoke to Mewtwo, everything was slow and that included the warmth that wraped up his body from his toes to his chest. It reminded him of his mother's hug when he first started his journey. Ash remembered walking along the streets from Pewter city along side Pikachu. His partner was out of sight but his warmth, like his mother's hug, was still near by. Pikachu ran around him and along side him before Ash realized he was sensing energy rather than hearing his partner's foot steps and chatter. The memory cleared and Ash forgot how noisy Pewter City was. There was no way for him to hear his partner's foot steps in that noisy city.

The world broke away and Ash exhaled a laugh. Psyduck's weight pressed against his back having firmly and securely rested himself in Ash's backpack. Psyduck had started to explore the bag while bored and coherent while Ash was walking. Ash just caught himself when Psyduck tilted inside the bag. Ash thought he must have found the blanket where something hit his lower back. Ash grinned and silently cheered for Psyduck. It was the most active Ash had seen him since they started training. Ash veered off his current route a little to the west to move down the hill. He had not known it was so steep until he stumbled and saw that the curve of the ground better.

Ash was careful not to get hurt as he slid down the steep side of the hill. Celadon was still a ways away but there was a small village up ahead. He had heard there was some kind of carnival going on. Ash was hopeful the crowds would not bother Psyduck too badly.

Dry dead branches cracked under his feet and his footing was loose as he scaled down the hill. A soft pressure began to make it self known against his back and Ash laughed as Psyduck buried his body back into the bag. Not bothering to look back, Ash's groggy mind allowed him to realize this was another memory. He gripped his backpack to make sure it did not fall off and moved down the hill. He felt like he should have looked back during this memory but it never happened. The memory felt wrong some how. Ash blinked as he realized what it was.

Pikachu and Psyduck were in their pokeballs.

Ash remembered he had recalled them to cut across the forest to reach that town. Ash had, at the time, chalked the stumble up to Psyduck moving things in his backpack with his mind. But Ash knew better now. Psyduck did not have the focus to do any of those things while he was in his pokeball yet.

Ash force himself to turn back to the path he was on and could see the dangerous abrupt edge he would have fallen off had he not lost his balance. Beneath it was a sleeping pokemon he did not recognize. It was a mass of brown fur that rumbled with heavy breaths. Ash decided to leave quickly rather than scan it to find what it was. All the while Ash carefully and quickly left the area, he was clearly aware of the Pokemon behind him. It was a presence he could not ignore and it chilled him knowing where it was as he left the forest.

The forest broke away to a field and Ash smiled at his mother. He was much short and younger now. His mother wore a blue summer dress and a large white hat. Ash allowed himself to bask in the memory now that he knew these were indeed memories. Ash ran ahead of his mother and stood out in the field. His eyes were closed and his palms were open in front of him. The small boy hummed with eyes close. _It is such a warm breeze!_

His mother walked past him with bag in one hand and the other swinging lightly at her side.

Ash began to find details he never noticed before. Like the breeze. He could feel it on his skin but his mother did not braced her hat against it. It sat undisturbed on her head. Her dress didn't flow against the wind. Neither did the grassy field that had many flowers sway to the undulating breeze Ash felt against his body. Ash's memories began to move again.

'Pidgeotto! Get over here!' Ash called while he bounced on his feet. Ash could actually _feel_ Pidgeotto's shadow as it circled in the sky and flew toward him. The sun blinded Ash to his pokemon, but he still looked to the sky and found the black dot high in the air. Ash knew Pidgeotto. He was like a beacon. A bright light in the sky.

The sky suddenly turned dark and that beacon suddenly had a bright light attached to it. Ash felt the water splash against him as the Anne rocked from the sudden crash of pokemon that tried to board the ship. Ash remembered a dark moment where he caught Psyduck. The little duck was getting too tired to keep it all up and allowed himself to fall to the ground.

Ash held the bird close. 'Good job on concentrating and keeping us separated from everyone minds Psyduck.' It was half a heartbeat later that he realized Psyduck lost consciousness. Ash realized his bag was no where near him. It was left behind on the lower deck when he landed. Ash looked to Pidgeotto and whistled but the bird did not heed his call. Ash felt himself panic. _Was Psyduck the only reason Pidgeotto could hear me?_ Briefly, even the memory faded. The world blurred as Ash whistled hard and long. Pidgeotto flew down next to him with the backpack. Ash gratefully took it and started to care for Psyduck. Pidgeotto needed no word as he spread his wings to help Pikachu.

Ash felt Pidgeot's fly up to a branch with an annoyed huff. 'This is their home.' The snorlax growled at the small trainer. In the back of his mind Ash realized that Snorlax should have just ignored him. Snorlax nearly did that until Ash growled and clenched his fists. Snorlax growled angrily and turned around. The giant pokemon was hungry and short of bodily harm, should have just ignored Ash like the idiot kid he was. Ash remembered clearly thinking to himself: _Don't ignore me!_

The snorlax turned to him and started his attack. With every swing he threw himself off balance. Ash felt his mind colliding with two separate thoughts. His memory clearly angry thought only to keep the pokemon off balanced. Ash felt his body move and spin around to hit Snorlax' leg. But Ash understood Snorlax now. These wide swings were not like him. Snorlax was used to swimming and understood how his body worked. Another swing went wide as Ash pulled back. Ash felt the hair not tucked under his hat move as the claw missed him.

Snorlax did not want to fight Ash. It was something he would never notice if he just tried to remember the encounter. His body was pumping with so much adrenaline. But watching it now, Snorlax over extended so often because he was reluctant to fight. So why did he keep fighting?

Ash knew a hyperbeam was coming and got up to try and knock it away. Ash always thought he saw it start to charge. But now that he was reliving the memory he knew he started to move well before Snorlax started to charge his attack. Ash felt the energy as it began to warm the air and condense in Snorlax's mouth. He wanted to divert the fire and pushed Snorlax's face as hard as he could until the breeze slowed. Ash tumbled away with a painful groan as the shot fired into the air.

Completely detached from the scene, Ash only had one thing that could by the reason why Snorlax didn't ignore him.

 _ _Don't Ignore me.__

It echoed in his mind as he stood up from the tree he crashed into. Ash felt his body get up before Pidgeot hit him for not throwing a pokeball. When Snorlax was finally inside his pokeball Ash felt himself relax and the wind that surrounded him slowed.

Ash slowly felt himself leave his memories. Ash did not realize how much he relied on his ability. When Ash first told Pikachu that energy was energy, he had no idea where the thought came from. He had a better idea now. Ash allowed the wind to surround him. The _energy_ to surround him. It was always there but he had simply turned a blind eye to it.

Ash smiled into the warmth as it took a familiar hue of purple. __Ah__ _,_ he thought to himself. Like how he showed Mewtwo memories of training Psyduck. Mewtwo was showing Ash memories where he used his own abilities.

-o-

Ash opened his eyes. He could no longer tune it out. The world washed over him in gentle waves. Ash rubbed his eyes that had crusted slightly from being closed for a long time. The stir of his pokemon greeted him around the long dead fire. It was late morning judging from the sun and the non-existent fire. He hissed in pain as the blood started to rush into his legs again. He was nearly able to stand from his seated position but his legs gave out from him. He let himself plop on the ground with an ungraceful thud. Seconds later, Pikachu jumped on his stomach making it growl in protest of the lack of food. Ash focused on Pikachu and the breakfast bar in his mouth for his trainer.

Ash smiled and petted the yellow mouse. 'Thanks Pikachu.' Ash felt the sun warm him. Ash giggled to himself and hugged the mouse that laid on his chest. So many things were around him but more importantly so were his team, his family! Ash sat up and looked to each of them. Gengar was the first to stir with a laugh.

'I guess you never saw me with my ability like this have you?' Ash waved Gengar over. Ash felt the small currents of wind around him and they were rebuffed and curved around his hand as he touched Gengar's head.

Ash looked to everyone. 'Thanks for letting me figure this out guys. This doesn't change who we are. And really, we already proved we don't need my ability, do we Psyduck?' The little duck sniffled and quacked at Ash.

Ash scanned around the area. But he did not feel or taste, as weird as it sounded, the purple hue of Mewtwo's energy.

Psyduck pulled out Ash's pokedex. Ash glanced at the screen and ate his breakfast bar. The stinging pins were gone from his legs and he wiggled his toes in his shoes to get the feeling back in them. Ash closed the pokedex. 'We need to get back to Kanto. We have a few messages that are too large for me to download from this distance. Was that what chased Mewtwo off?' Ash asked the group.

Psyduck floated to Ash and tapped his forehead. Ash suddenly felt how long he had been unconscious. 'I was like that for almost two days?' Ash scratched his head. __That explains why I'm so hungry__ _._ He waved at them to clean up the camp while he relieved himself. The group was in the air flying back to Kanto.

Ash allowed a smile to spread across his face. He could feel more than see the waves of life below him. He squeezed Pidgeot's neck and the group flew low above the canopy of foliage. Ash looked around and felt himself pull closer north. He directed Pidgeot in various directions while he got used to all the types of "flavors" he felt in the air. It was the only way to describe it. They had a taste and a color and a rainbow of everything that he could only really describe but not see.

Ash patted Pidgeot's neck and pointed over the birds' shoulder. That "flavor" was different from the others. Pidgeot navigated low to the ground and around several ancient trees to land on a tree that could support their combined weight. Ash dismounted and supported himself against the trunk.

Pidgeot looked at his trainer around his muzzle. Ash put a finger to his lips to keep quiet but pointed to the small bulbasaur who had tried to get other pokemon to battle her. The pokemon was far darker shade of green compared to other bulbasaur Ash had seen. The Raticate huffed in annoyance before walking away. Ash smiled as he clicked his pokedex closed . The frustrated growl it gave amused both Pidgeot and Ash. It seemed this was nothing new based on how the other pokemon in the field and pond gave her a wide berth.

Ash looked how high they were and let himself fall to catch himself on the branch he stood on. Several more branches allowed him to fall the last ten feet to the soft earth below. The noise scattered more of the jittery pokemon but a few stayed, curious to look at what the commotion was. Ash saw a few evolved pokemon among them. They were likely confident they could handle what ever entered the field. Ash only had eyes for the little bulbasaur who glared at him with red eyes. The pokemon moved away as Ash approached giving him and the bulbasaur room.

The bulbasaur did not give Ash the same challenging stomp it had given the others. The lack of challenge slightly disappointed Ash. After staring at each other for a moment Ash called out, 'Hello Bulbasaur. I was actually hoping for a battle.'

The bulbasaur snarled at him. At the same time the leaves and bulb rustled. Ash was conscious of the gust of air that he felt and jumped back and stepped away. The breeze he felt was the only warning he received of the attack. Ash steped back and dodge the attack before he really spotted the two leaves that sped at him. The bulbasaur gave a flash of surprised before it growled and stomped its front feet. Ash smiled.

'You are a little firecracker aren't you?' Ash pulled out a pokeball and released Psyduck. 'Get the rest out. I think we all need to get motivated.' Ash pulled out a single rod from its holster behind his backpack. Psyduck quacked in alarm before it teleported itself and Ash's pokeballs away from Ash. Wind howled over Ash's body and he jumped before a whirlwind of leaves tried to envelop his body.

He smiled at the grass pokemon. Behind him three pops followed by a heavy thud from a disgruntled Snorlax that announced his teams' presence. Pidgeot's huff at Snorlax as it landed next to him. Ash felt the comforting warmth against his back at their presence. The bulbasaur cried in alarm at the new pokemon that appeared a ways away. Ash smiled at his team. 'Don't worry firecracker. They are not here to fight. Just to watch you. I noticed you wanted to fight a lot of the pokemon here. Why is that?'

Bulbasaur lowered her head against the ground to growl deep in her throat and hard against the earth. The ground shook slightly in the threat display.

Ash smiled. He would have to remember that trick. He darted forward with his rod ahead of him. A single vine sped to greet him. Ash met the advanced with his rod who guided it away from him and into the ground.

'You should really start those low against the ground to hide them in the grass little one.' Ash called out. Ash saw the bulb rustle and didn't need to feel the wind that blew against his cheek to know where the leaf would travel. He moved out of the way and pushed it further away for good measure. Ash watched how this pokemon fought. It had no training but Ash already understood from Snorlax that most pokemon have a personal way they tend to fight. It was a way to be comfortable while they try and protect themselves and attack threats. Ash wanted to observe that in this bulbasaur.

'You got plenty of places you can attack me from bulbasaur. If you want to follow me, you will need to look for them your self.' Bulbasaur growled in frustration at the casual chatter and two vines thrust forward.

Ash laughed.

'Still too high.' Ash used his foot to push one of them past him and low to the ground. He jumped and used his rod to smack the still moving second vine to the ground as well.

'You have been trying to challenge pokemon for a long time. You got too many scars to not have been doing this for a while. You can't be finding willing competition from the evolved pokemon if you are fighting like this.'

The bulbasaur growled again with searing eyes and the condescending tone. Ash felt he struck a nerve. He dodged another vine whip that had more force than the others. Ash landed himself two feet in front of the pokemon and kicked up dirt into the bulbasaur's eyes. He quickly jumped back moments before the pokemon flailed her vines everywhere. She was too enraged to properly target him.

Ash frowned but kept his rod between them.

'Calm down. It's no different than if one of these other pokemon used a sand attack and less painful to boot.'

Ash moved away as the bulbasaur took a stance and the slightly hazy clouds above him cleared. A small blip of light started to glow on bulbasaur's back. Ash laughed to himself as his pokemon gave an alarmed round of calls to him.

'I got it.' He called over his shoulder. Even without their warning he could feel the breeze that began to burn as hot as a back draft. The bulbasaur growled out a cry as it dipped forward and fired a solid phalanx of energy. Ash was thankful for the moment bulbasaur struggled against the weight it held on its back from the gathered energy. The energy was shot low and off centered. Ash was confident he could dodge the beam but he was comforted that Psyduck sent him a image moments prior of a shield. Just the simple gesture of protection allowed him to look at the pokemon and the attack without much worry. He felt the shell wrap around him like a balloon that was ready to pop.

Curiosity got the better of Ash and he moved his rod into the beam of energy before it began to fade. Ash gripped the rod hard as it nearly flew out of his hand and the leather strap would be tested to see how strong it was. The pull on Ash's arm nearly took him off his feet. The boy's shoulder instantly ached and vibrated numb from the energy that shot through the piece of metal. Ash gripped the rod and twisted. Ash willed the wind to stop moving in every direction and instead spin around the rod.

For half a moment, the winds slowed to a stop as they lost momentum before they turned around the rod. Another moment passed before the energy spun into a miniature sun. Ash instantly new this was dangerous and pictured to Psyduck an image of the group when they had teleported with Agatha. The bubbled around him disappeared followed instantly by the _ffffvvvp_ sound of over a dozen pokemon that had been teleported away. Ash allowed himself a small comfort everyone was away. He looked at the ball of energy on his rod. He didn't expect that by redirecting the energy he would feed it.

He could not tell if his grip was loosening but he could see the rod vibrate in his hand. His numb hand blindly gripped the rod already deciding he needed to burn off the energy. Ash saw the exhausted bulbasaur slump to the ground before being teleported as well.

 _Just have to worry about my self now…_

Shortly after Ash raised the rod into the air, he felt the balloon bubble snap back into place. Ash relaxed his mental grip on the rod and let the wind gust itself up. The energy was a narrow shaft of light that quickly exhausted itself. In the same moment, the rod crashed into the ground. Ash jumped back and swore. He did not mean to release his grip as he let the energy go.

Ash sighed at that and decided he would only try that again after he got a better handle on his ability. Ash turned around and instantly found the bulbasaur exhausted and panting heavily. It gave its all in that final attack. Ash felt he should be more worried than he really was that the pokemon tried to hurt him, if not kill him. But Ash knew he goaded the pokemon into it. Plus he was willing to risk fighting her himself. If he got hurt it was all on him as a trainer.

Ash walked up to the half slumped form of the bulbasaur. Ash nodded to himself while observing the little grass type. 'You put more energy into that one than you meant to.' Squatted in front of the pokemon and looked at the pokemon who was still trying to focus her eyes at him.

'Don't worry we can fix that for you if you want. I am looking for another training partner. Do you want to come along?'

The bulbasaur swallowed thickly before she bowed her head in submission. Her eyes were still defiant but willing. Ash did a light tap to the top of her head. 'None of that! Everyone who travels with me is willing. I don't want to bring someone along who does not want to join me. I won't force you into a pokeball if you don't want to or are unsure.' Ash pulled off the last empty ball from his belt.

'Do you want to follow me and see where we can go together?'

Bulbasaur finally caught her breath and looked at the other pokemon that surrounded her. They each looked at her with no judgement in their eyes, each equally accepting of her choice. Bulbasaur yipped at Ash with some returned pep. Ash smiled and gestured to the ball. She looked at the ball curiously.

'Just hit the red button.' Ash pointed at the button. Ash was not surprised the bulbasaur was not familiar with the pokeball. They were pretty far from any human settlement. Most of the pokemon here probably never saw a human before, much less a pokeball.

The bulbasaur let out a cry of surprise as she turned into red energy. The ball rocked for a few seconds. Enough time passed were Ash wondered if she would come out not liking the ball. Finally the ball stopped rolling and it clicked. Ash picked up the ball and released her. The backpack flew at him courtesy of Psyduck. Ash felt the energy charged bag coming and caught it blindly before setting it down to reach for a side pocket. Bulbasaur looked around with a sleepy look, she had burned a lot of energy and it had finally caught up with her. She shook it off and gained her bearings and smiled eagerly at Ash. Ash gently used a potion and cloth to rub down bulbasaur's haunches that seemed to take the brunt of their skirmish.

Ash looked at their surroundings and smiled at the other pokemon who looked at them curiously. When they decided Ash was not going anywhere and the fighting was over, they all left.

'Hello bulbasaur, my name is Ash. I am a trainer and these are members of our team.' Ash eagerly introduced everyone but after a moment Ash realized bulbasaur seemed to not be fully understand what he was saying. Psyduck tugged at his sleeve and showed an image of someone talking but all he could hear was a tone and unrecognizable speech.

Ash smiled and petted the bulbasaur. 'I guess you don't understand a word I am saying huh?'

Bulbasaur seemed content to be petted. 'Well that will make it interesting. I guess if there are no humans around…'

Ash raised the pokemons chin. 'Ash.' Ash gestured to himself and finally Bulbasaur nodded replying 'blubaba' in gesture to him.

Ash pointed to bulbasaur and said, 'Bulbasaur.' Bulbasaur seemed to sound the name in her head before she shook her head. Ash smiled. 'You want an actual name then?' Ash looked at his group who seemed to all be amused with the conversation. Ash looked at the little pokemon and spotted a leaf on the ground from her earlier leaf storm. 'Leaf?' Pidgeot promptly threw Ash's bag at him. With no energy laced around the bag, Ash was blindsided and knocked over. The group laugh while Pidgeot huffed at the lack of Ash's naming sense.

Ash spotted that the bulbasaur was confused. Ash tried to pick up two leaves and said, 'Leaves?' Pidgeot squawked at him before the bulbasaur cheered at the nice sounding name.

Ash stuck a tongue out at Pidgeot. 'See? Someone likes the names I come up with.'

-o-

Ash read through all the notifications. He grinned at them all. The one he was waiting for finally arrived.

 _ _Congratulations!__

 _ _You have qualified for the Indigo League Tournament. You're performance and time completing your challenge has ranked you__ _ _.__ _Your placement number is 254th_ _ _.__ _ _Please confirm your registration at the nearest Pokemon Center by June 17th. You will be disqualified if you do not meet this deadline. Further information will be given at the time of registration.__

Ash sighed thinking back on his travels. It was not the kind of journey he had expected to take when he first left Pallet Town. But he had done it. He closed the message and started to scroll through the other messages that beeped at him when he first started to fly into Kanto. He had expected the four messages from his friends and his mom. But the last one was…

Ash closed the pokedex. 'Let's go Psyduck. I need you to teleport us to Pewter.'

Ash felt the alarm in the small pokemon's mind at the announcement. 'I know you haven't been there before. Just look at where I am thinking and find it. I trust you buddy.'

Psyduck quacked at the encouragement and gave his trainer another look to make sure. Ash gave an encouraging tilt of his head. Psyduck grumbled to himself and gripped Ash's pant leg. Psyduck's feathers ruffled while he kept his eyes closed. Ash felt the shift and began to clearly imagine the pokemon center in Pewter. It had been over a month, but he still had the image of it in his head. When Psyduck found the place he allowed Ash's image to blend in with the streets in Pewter and the pair disappeared with a blip of light.

-o-

Ash was not sure why Brock wanted to meet him so quickly, but Ash did regret not being able to talk to him as much as he did with the other gym leaders. When he stood on the entrance to the Pewter Gyms' doorway he felt a wave of nostalgia. It seemed like a long time since he was just with Pikachu in this gym.

'Good morning, I am looking for Brock.' Ash announced into the open Gym. After seeing the other gyms, Ash appreciated the utilitarian use of this gym. It was not apart of some home for Brock. The battle arena was made with reinforced walls, perfect for the massive pokemon like Onix. There was an office on the catwalk above him and the pedestal where Brock kept his pokemon for his challengers.

A creak in the door above him that led to the back opened. Brock gave a look of surprise before he smiled at the boy. 'It's good to see you again Ash. You've certainly grown. Although I am happy to see you here so quickly. The tournament announcements were yesterday.'

Ash grinned and made his way inside. The stone doors behind Ash started to move with a sound of grinding sandstone until they shut behind him. 'You just said it was urgent Sir. What can I do for you?'

Brock waved his hand in a gesture to come up stairs. 'Come into my office. I have a few things we need to talk about and not much time.'

Ash followed Brock to his office and sat down on the a comfortable sofa. He knew it was ridiculous, but in his eleven year old mind he was half expecting to see stone furniture like Brocks chair in the gym. 'I am sorry it took so long to answer your message. I would have sent a message earlier but I didn't have your gym's address and I did not stop at a Pokemon Center before coming over.'

Brock gave a relieved look. 'So you haven't registered for the Indigo League Tournament?'

Ash shook his head. 'Not yet.'

Brock exhaled while he pulled out a piece of paper that was embossed with the Pokemon League logo. 'The main prize for the tournament is entry into the Indigo Plateau. This is that invitation.' Brock stared hard at Ash while he pushed the invitation across the desk to Ash.

Ash swallowed as he took and read the header. It was printed in formal address of his name and town.

'How did I earn this?' Ash knew he was fighting well against the gym leaders, but this invitation was to compete against experienced trainers who were looking for promotions within the league.

Brock shook his head. 'Ash I've been following you since you left my Gym. You are a rare find. One that the League wants to have in their employ.' Brock thought of Lance who chose him as the messenger. 'A few of them are making an effort to see you come into the fold.'

Ash frowned at the meaning. He already began to reason something had to be bent for him to get this invitation.

'Ash, you earned this invitation. Don't mistake what I mean when I say there was a lot of effort.'

Brock thought it was best to get something to allow the boy to collect his thoughts. He moved to get himself a cup of tea, and offered a cup of the fragrant brew to Ash who took it absently. The letter sat on the desk. It's letters were a swirl of words.

When Brock sat back down, 'Ash there are several criteria for someone to be invited into the Plateau. They have to have several commendations by their superiors. They need to participate in the protection of Kanto. They also need to be able to defend and lead others.'

Ash thought of the Anne and exhaled as he agreed with Brocks' list. 'Alright, so what does this mean for the Indigo League tournament for me?'

Brock laughed. 'It means that the Indigo League is moot. There is no reason for you to participate in it. I wanted to get to you before you registered because the Plateau. If you decide to take this invitation your battles will be brutal. Knowledge is power, and if you participate in Indigo League every person you fight in the Plateau will know about you and your pokemon.'

Ash suddenly understood what that meant. That fact was a lesson he learned after fighting for Kyo for so long. It was only because he had learned Kyo's habits with his pokemon that Ash began to get an edge in winning against the gym leader. Ash leaned back in his chair suddenly unsure about the Indigo League.

Around his cup Brock added, 'Not to mention, that we potentially loose another trainer that comes into the Indigo Plateau.'

Ash gave an audible "oh" at that comment.

'Ash, keep in mind this is all voluntary.' Brock added quickly. The boy looked like he was beginning to become overwhelmed. 'It's your choice. If you want to participate in the Indigo League, that is your right. You can do both, or neither. But the League wants you.'

Ash listened to the details of the structure of the tournaments and what could come from them. He did not need to make that decision now, but he would need to make it before the deadline in a few days for the Indigo League.

Ash looked back at the Pewter Gym. In the end he didn't get to talk to Brock about rock pokemon. He left too in shock about what he was offered. Ash walked into the Pokemon Center ready to relax in the recreation room. When he checked in, he handed Nurse Joy his pokeballs.

She gave an audible squeak. 'Congratulations on your invitation to the Indigo League! Did you want to register?'

Ash just stared at her.

It was a good question.

-o-

Gary scrubbed his face with his towel. A few more days and he would stay at Indigo Village. The League town was only opened to the public during the tournament. _The last tournament._ Gary reminded himself. With the restructuring that is about to happen, the tournament would be open to just not new comers but to two year veterans. Anyone who was not in a position within the Pokemon League.

Gary knew he had to make a good showing or he would have to go to another region to get the credentials he needs to work for his grandfather. A high ranking in the tournament would allow him the grants he needs to go to any pick of college.

His pokedex rang just as he was heading out the door. Gary lifted it off his hip and smiled at the name.

"ASH KETCHUM"

Gary clicked it open and saw Ash's mess with his hair and hat. 'Ash! How are you doing? I was starting to wonder if you were going to call back.'

Ash waved at him. He was clearly holding the pokdex as the camera moved at the gesture. 'I actually was out of range for a while. I just got all my messages in one pile. I'm picking through them all right now.'

Gary rubbed his nose, 'Did you get your invite? You will want to get a place to reserve a place to stay soon. The Indigo Village isn't a very big settlement.'

Ash took a moment to realize what he said. 'There's no pokemon center there?'

Gary smiled. 'Kind of? It's usually only for participants. No the lodgings. You will need to pay for a room for the tournament.'

Ash gave a grunt of acknowledgment. 'Do you got a moment? I got something I ran into and want your opinion.'

Gary stepped back into his room and set his pokedex on the table. When he sat on his bed and stared at the screen Ash shared what he was told. Gary wanted to pull his hair out at the wishy-washy attitude Ash had some times.

'Ash,' Gary paused. He personally would do anything for that kind of chance. But he knew Ash. They had competed against each other since they were children in the park. While Ash had always been impulsive. Ash wasn't stupid. He knew this was an important chance. Gary conceded to himself that was likely the problem. Despite that, Ash wants to compete in the Indigo League.

'You can look at this in two ways Ash. While the Indigo League _is_ the new comer's tournament. This will be the last one before Kanto restructures everything. That means it's open to several levels of trainers. Just not the new comers.'

'I know, Brock told me.' Ash said with a down trodden voice.

Gary repressed the amused smirk. 'So you know that there is a lot of chances for you to gain experience battling other trainers. Not just the road kiddies.'

Ash looked at Gary with his eyes wide and mouth formed in a half excited smile and frown. Gary laughed at that look. Ash really wanted an excuse to compete with the lower tournament. 'Ash, you will get more experience if you compete in the Indigo League, but you will also be showing off too. I've watched the Indigo Plateau with Grandpa for years. They don't compete. They _fight._ If you are not ready, you will be torn apart. But you will also be exposing everything to them if you do compete in the Indigo League.'

The camera in the pokedex rolled around and Gary could hear Ash moan in the background.

-o-

Brock sighed at the knocking sound that came from the door. Brock called out loudly, 'Champion, you barge into my office whenever you want to, why are you knocking now?'

Lance walked in and gave an apologetic smile. 'Because I want to hear how it went.' He spotted the young boy holding his geodude and gave the two a hand wave.

Brock looked over to his brother Flint.

Flint knew the look. The two stared each other down. When Brock thought he had won, Flint whined out, 'What? I am going to work with the Champion soon! I want to hear.'

Lance ruffled the boy's hair. 'At least one of you wants to be a gym leader.'

Brock scowled at the Champion. Lance flinched. 'Sorry.' Lance genuinely meant it. Brock was left the gym by his father with no training in how to run a gym much less be a trainer and leader. He had to learn it all himself when he was eight.

'So? How did it go?' Lance took a seat at the couch and looked across the room at the gym leader.

Brock grunted, 'He got the message. Whether he goes through with the Plateau or not, it's up to him. I didn't pretty it up if that's what you were worried about.'

Lance gave a self satisfied smile before he gave an exhasperated laugh at the annoyed look Brock directed at him. 'Don't give me that look Brock. It was you gym leaders that wanted to push him towards the Indigo Plateau. I just took an interest in him afterwards.'

Brock clicked his tongue. 'Have you heard from Koga?'

Lance waved his hand and leaned back in the chair. He sighed at the soft pillows before he looked up. 'Only that he was curious of the boys ranking if he entered either tournament. It's weird some times to see the rankings.'

Brock smirked. 'I almost want to put money down.' Brock quickly coughed a moment after he realized who he was talking to.

Lance laughed loudly. 'I'll just pretend I didn't hear that.' He stood up and dusted off his pants in an absent minded gesture. 'What was your impression of the boy's choices?'

Brock shook his head and looked to Flint. The young boy was only a few years younger than Ash. Flint was destined to be Gym Leader. Strong with a stone affinity and already raising his own pokemon. He breathed rock pokemon. Comparing him to Ash who seemed to have no real aim. 'It's a toss up. He is strong, but I get the feeling that he doesn't know what he wants. If he is given a choice he will stall and let someone make the choice for him.' Brock widened his eyes and looked at Lance's back. He glared at the older man. 'Don't you think to abuse that trust Lance.'

Lance shook his head. 'Why do you all think I'm so nefarious? Maybe you are just all protective? Now, if the president got involved then we can _all_ get worried.' Lance waved at the young boy before looking at Brock. 'I just want Kanto to prosper. And we need every strong hand we can find.'

The door closed with a click. Flint looked at his brother. 'Are we really in bad shape? I thought everything was going to be ok.'

Brock smiled at the optimism. 'We will be. I wish Lance would talk to Ash directly. He would understand that Kanto is too small for the kid.'

Flint scowled. 'Pewter is big enough for me, how can Kanto be too small?'

Brock let the rumble I his chest stay silent as he stood while attempting not to laugh. 'Come Flint, let's go train for a bit.'

-o-

Ash landed at the entrance to the hotel and looked up at the height of the building. It was larger when you look at it from this side. It was still nestled deep into the mountain. He had almost two full weeks before he needed to decide. But there were a few things he wanted to work on before he committed himself to either tournament. He planned to enter the Indigo Plateau. It was just now a matter of how he was going to prepare for it.

He smiled at the receptionist. An older woman with graying hair greeted him. 'Good afternoon Sir. What can I do for you today?'

'I can take over for this one Nilina. I expect he is here to see me.' A familiar rough voice answered her.

Ash smiled and looked behind the woman's shoulder. 'Hello Blaine. I was hoping you could help me train the new girl that joined the team.'

'Oh, who would that be?'

Ash smiled and released the teams newest member. 'Come out Leaves. You are going to get a crash course on fighting.' The green bulbasaur perked up and looked at Blaine with the beginnings of an "o" forming at her mouth.

Blaine looked at the eager grass pokemon. 'A bulbasaur. A rare one too. She looks ready to evolve if that bulb on her back is any indicator.' Leaves yipped happily against Blaine's hand as he stroked her cheek. 'We'll then. Let's see if we can get her ready. If you are here to see me, then you already have a plan for the tournaments.'

Ash raised his eyebrows into his hairline. 'Yeah… Did Brock tell you?'

Blaine laughed. 'I was first in line to recommend you Ash.'

Ash smiled at his friend. He waved Leaves to follow him. 'Of course you did.'

A/N: Updated and edited. I really hope these chapters don't just turn into a yearly thing. 2.7.18


	19. Chapter 19: Gary

Chapter 19

 _The dead line came faster than I hoped._ Ash thought to himself. He had tried for so long to rush the gym challenges to even qualify for the tournament. Now that he was here, he felt like the wind was taken out of his sails by Brock's offer. Thinking back on it, he knew he cut quite a few corners. All of his friends pointed it out just how few pokemon he has trained.

Ash always had to move forward to that next gym. Reflecting on it now, he must have known on some level why he refused to capture another pokemon. There was never enough time to train them. Ash didn't regret it now that it was over. He was happy with who he had. Ash looked at Leaves with a muffled laugh.

Leaves struggled to tug on the new branch to judge if it was strong enough to practice against. Ash smiled at her chirped bark of attention. He called the drill one more time before thinking back to his journey. Ash realized he enjoyed the journey more than he thought. Even after speaking with Gary about everything, Ash did not regret the way he got here. The only concern his mother had, which he did not think about until Misty rightly pointed out how others were thinking for him: what did he plan to do from now on? After the tournament was completed, what was he going to do?

In his trainers voice, 'Left, reach, pull!' Leaves hesitated as she still did not fully understand him but eventually completed the actions. Ash decided early on to take several hours a day just to have her learn the handful of calls. The lessons only now started to pay off.

Ash ran through all of the commands and resisted the habit to shake his head. It was still too soon for Leaves' debut. Ash refocused his attention and noticed Leaves struggled to move her vines high then low to grab the tree branch before she pulled hard. She dug her feet into the ground and growled as her vines went taunt.

'Hold!' Ash called. Leaves instantly relaxed but kept her vines attached to the tree. 'Good.' Ash moved in front of her and showed his hands to match her vines.

'Pull,' Ash gently tugged her left vine to have her understand what he was saying. He touched the other vine gently to move it in a whipping motion. The line created a small ripple down the vine towards the branch. 'Push.' Ash instructed. A few moments passed while Leaves tested both vines to feel how she was supposed to do both actions at the same time.

Ash patted Leaves' head with a smile when she chirped at him. With a grunt, he stood up to back away. The trainer pulled off his hat to wipe away the sweat that ran into his eyes. An afternoon sun was directly over head and it beat on his brow and shoulders with the heat. It was another sign that it was almost time for a break. Gary should be here soon.

When Ash moved behind Leaves, he gave her a moment to play with her vines again. The pause allowed him to really think about the difference when he trained someone who did not understand him. He was thankful for the experience even as he was not sure he was prepared for it. The pair had run into so many hurdles Ash had taken for granted when he trained his other team members.

'Reset!' Ash called.

Leaves finally relaxed and retracted her vines again. 'Twist!' The new command was a word Leaves had never heard before. But Ash cheered her when she understood it was what she just practiced. Her vines whipped to the tree branch. She grunted and planted her foot as one vine turned taunt from the pull and the other sent a ripple along the other vine. The branched snapped loudly and flew to the ground with a heavy thud.

Ash laughed loudly. 'Great job Leaves, you did it!' Ash walked next to the small pokemon who looked at the branch with surprise. She had not expected the branch to break and nearly let it fly into the air after the snap. She pulled back her vines as the pair walked up to the broken tree branch to survey the damage. With a gentle probe, Leaves chirped happily at the broken branch.

Ash rubbed the bulb on her back in praise. 'That is exactly what I am looking for.'

Ash knelt in front of Leaves and wiggled his arms at her. 'Just like I said. "twist".' Ash snapped one hand to the branch and like her vine, moved his free arm in a loose whipping motion to spin the branch. Leaves was a fast learner once she understood what Ash wanted her to do. She was very intelligent and it showed when Pikachu and Snorlax praised her in their spars. Ash felt it won't be long until she starts to fully understand him. At this point, it is a matter of time until she learned the language.

'Let's head back. Blaine will want to see the progress too before we check in with the Pokemon Center.' Ash stretched as he recalled Leaves into her pokeball and lifted his bag over his shoulder. He needed to make the trip to town to let Nurse Joy know about his decision by the end of today. There was no reason to wait, but Gary wanted to talk to him.

-o-

Gary landed on the island slightly behind schedule. The final week has been pretty hectic. He had to submit his applications ahead of time for the review board to judge his performance at the tournament. That meant introducing himself to the different colleges across Kanto. Unfortunately, it also forced him to keep his training sessions held up until late evening. Even with the sun lasting longer into the night and earlier into the day, there never seemed to be enough time in the day. The exhaustion of being active all day long also began to wear on him.

He chose not to think about the pressure to perform after he applied to the colleges. He collected his Charizard into his pokeball and clipped it on his belt as he walked into the Pokemon Center. Ash leaned against the counter with a exhausted smile at something Nurse Joy said. Nurse Joy smiled at Ash's reply and gave a nearly inaudible reply of, 'No one will appreciate it if you said it that way kid.' Ash grimaced and turned to Gary.

'Hey Ash. Did you already do it?'

'I am waiting for you to have your say, but I don't see why I had to wait when I already decided that I would skip the open tournament.'

Gary gave an aggravated sigh. But Ash just laughed at him. The younger boy added, 'Gary, there will always be other tournaments. And you saw my ranking. I like the idea battling with other trainers, but to do so many pointless fights when I already have my pass? It seems like a waste. Plus that frees up another person to come along.'

Gary ran his hand through his hair. 'Ash, this is the _last_ tournament. It will be a tournament that will go down in history. Don't you want your name on that?' Ash shook his head and tilted his head towards Nurse Joy who just giggled.

'Sorry Sir, I pointed that out as well. But I will say, assuming he made it to the finals, it is kind of him to pass that award to someone else who would not had the chance otherwise.'

'I am not eager to become famous. Or rich for that matter.' Ash added quickly as he clicked open his Pokedex and started to write down his trainer identification number.

'Then why go at all? You said you still planned to go even if you don't participate. And I know Janine doesn't know yet.' Gary groused. He thanked the nurse but declined her gesture to take his pokemon. Ash planned for them to train still.

'I'm just curious how other people fight.' Ash heard a ding a moment later and turned to Nurse Joy who left and returned quickly with a tray of pokeballs. With a thank you, he started to clip them onto his belt. 'Gary you know I've been thinking about this for a while. And I have done some research to see what I was likely going to run into if I wanted to try and compete in _both_ tournaments. Do you know what I found?'

Gary shook his head. 'Probably how the winner of the Indigo League gets demolished in the first round of the Indigo Plateau challenge every time.'

Ash laughed. Gary wasn't wrong. Ash slipped out of the smile when he thought of the ranks. 'Not a single person in the new comers tournament had more than two ten-badge battles. So few people take them in their first year. Only Giovanni's battle is considered a given, It is so common of a practice ten badge battles are not even tracked for the placement matches. The only thing they rank the tournament by is length of time you took to get the minimum eight badges, and how many total badges you have earned.'

'And you got in barely with eight.' Gary frowned at the thought.

Ash nodded when he waved back Nurse Joy. 'Exactly. I would have to go through a few extra rounds with people who completed the bare minimum. To be honest I am still tempted to try if only to give Leaves experience. But I also saw of the few trainers who I would likely fight against.'

Gary impatiently waved his hand for Ash to continue. But Ash took the paper from Nurse Joy and signed it. 'Some of them were trainers I've seen at Koga's gym while I stayed there for my gym battle. It's unnecessary to fight any of them. They would see me and know that our fights would just be a formality. It's unnecessarily cruel for them to fight someone they knew they could not win against.'

Gary watched as the paper was accepted by Nurse Joy with a bow. 'It just sounds big headed to me.' Gary folded his arms and scowled.

Ash laughed at the irony. 'Well that's that! It does add to the list of problems. Mom was excited to hear I qualified.' He muttered to himself as Nurse Joy took the paper signature and his Pokedex to register for the Indigo Plateau.

Gary wanted to grab the paper and shred it as he saw it pass hands. 'There is no backing out now.' he groused.

Ash patted Gary's back. 'It's fine Gary. We'll have plenty of battles. Right now we have to focus on you.'

Gary slumped his shoulders in defeat. After Ash got his pokedex back, Gary snapped out of his stupor. 'Then you convince Misty that it was your choice to not go into the tournament. She's not talking to me.'

Ash waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. 'Come on. Blaine is waiting for us on the beach. I was going to talk to her tonight anyway. She wanted to know when I made it final. And you could just leave her a message.'

Gary shook his head as the pair started out of town. 'You two are exactly alike. You never check your messages. Besides, I've talked to Lily last time I called. She suggested I let her cool off.'

Ash gave his friend a strange look. 'What the heck did you do?'

Gary put his hands in his pockets and shut up. He decided he was not going to talk about how he turned down her offer of recommendation to the colleges. Not if he ever wanted a chance to be taken seriously.

Gary had stayed far away from his grandfather for the same reason. Gary remembered the stories of his father's career and how it crashed before it even started. The generous company grants that came in rode on the Oak family name and never for his fathers research. Brendon Oak never did recover from the grant loss until gramps came in to bail him out. Gary's father realized quickly there after he would need to change his career if he wanted to be able to stand on his own.

While Gary would love to work with his grand father in his research projects. The shadow cast on him was too large. Gary had to earn his spot on his own merits.

Gary wished he had more time to explain this to Misty before she kicked him out of her swimming pool. His clumsy explanation lead to them not talking for the better part of a week. When Ash announced to Misty that he would likely not participate in the tournament, Gary received an angry call from the girl. It started tentatively enough when they wanted to share their thoughts about Ash's idea. It quickly devolved into an hour long argument over the com terminal.

'I don't want to talk about it.' Gary finally muttered after a few minutes of silence.

The pair found Blaine in a floral over sized shirt with blue shades and brown swim trunks. He waved at the boys from the pier that held most of the local boats. His personal boat was a private fishing ship with a small crane that folded on the outside edge of the ship. 'Hop on board boys. We'll be taking a days ride out to the island.'

Gary sighed as he pulled out a pokeball to release a water pokemon into the water. The trip was a promising time to train up and unwind. At least he hoped it was. Ash may still decide to go all drill Sargent.

Ash relaxed on a reclined chair and let his smaller pokemon out. They happily roamed on deck. The loud rumble got his attention as a crane moved out and folded out to a secondary float.

'Go ahead and let Snorlax out there Ash, it was attached for him.'

Ash smiled as he called out Snorlax. 'Thank you Blaine. I am sure Snorlax misses the ocean.' The ship rocked for a few moments at the sudden weight before it settled on its new center. Ash grinned ear to ear at the surprised look Snorlax gave to being surrounded by water. His ears perked up and his eyes opened widely before he dipped his toes and paws into the water as they moved over it.

'LAX.' He cried happily.

Gary looked over the boat ledge to the small float. He cut his mind off before it led to the Cerulean City gym's pool. 'I was wondering what the crane was for. I didn't realize it was hiding a platform on the side of the ship.'

Blaine moved from the helm to join them. 'It was originally where we loaded a research sub for repairs before it dove for deep sea exploration expeditions. This ship used to be a research ship for me and Giovanni. He had an idea to look for an old city that sunk into the ocean a few hundred years ago.'

Ash looked away from Snorlax. 'I didn't know you worked with Giovanni.'

Blaine rolled eyes. 'I think you would be surprised how many trainers worked for the man at one time or another. I can safely say over two thirds of Kanto trainers owe something to him. Giovanni seeks talent and talent seeks him. We found a few remnants of the city, but the lad decided to cut our losses before we went too far.'

Gary refocused on the conversation after looking at his pokedex for messages. 'What kind of losses did you have on a diving expedition?'

Blaine laughed. 'What didn't we have? The dive was maybe the third research project Giovanni had started. The boy was barely eighteen when he convinced enough researchers to donate their time to the project. The lad tried his best to use as much of his own saved money from his world fights. But it took some difficulty for any scientist to take the words of a pokemon fighter seriously when he spoke about scientific breakthroughs that were buried in the sunken city.'

Blaine went back to the helm but motioned for them to follow him. 'Ash grab that sextant. Its the metal triangle with the lenses on it.' Ash obediently followed the order and handed it to Blaine.

'This is all we really had as we navigated to the coordinates. Giovanni had commandeered the captains cabin and only allowed me and a friend of mine, Loreli to enter. Neither of us were thrilled when we learned we were following a trail based off some unconfirmed translated text. That sextant is the same one Giovanni used to get us there.' Blained looked at it nostalgically.

'Really, we probably should have known better than to take the word of a young man. But honestly, most trainers grew faster than other people. A career trainer even at twenty could have more world experience than an adult twice his age.' Blaine gave a pointed look to Ash.

Ash smiled and ignored the curious look Gary gave him.

'We actually found the city much to Loreli's and my own surprise. It was deeper than we expected and only two of us in the entire crew had pokemon who could safely dive that low.' Blaine gestured to the float. 'That's where we built a pressure vessel that could hold barely enough air for one person to take pictures. Guess who volunteered for the dangerous mission?'

Gary muttered. 'Giovanni was that crazy then?'

Blaine shook his head. 'Suicidal is what we called him. But he allowed his lapras to guide his vessel deep into the water to take pictures and samples. It disturbed quite a few pokemon when he found some formations and went to explore them. They surfaced and for what seemed like days, we fended off angered pokemon both familiar and foreign that rose out of the water. We discovered the first water-electric type pokemon that day. Not just luminescent like some of the others, but truly electric that could fry circuitry like your Pikachu could.'

Ash had taken a seat next to Gary and laughed at the image. Gary winced at the possibility. 'It didn't damage any of the recordings did it?'

Blaine exhaled as he moved the ship at a new angle. 'Not quite. But there were arguments when we found that a few of the findings went missing. Giovanni was furious and the crew fell apart and separated into factions. It was the most high strung voyage back to land. It's a pity really. We worked as an amazing team. We built the equipment on the ship we needed and we were able to get some real findings that gave us funding for years. I could only image what it would have been like if we had stuck together.'

Blaine stood quietly reminiscing it all. Gary exhaled at the story. It was a little too close to home as a trainer who wants to become a researcher.

-o-

'Hold!' Ash called abruptly. Gary called his Espeon to stop. The pokemon looked between the trainers with a confused look.

'It happened again Gary.' Gary thought back to the last move he did.

'Shit. It did. Espeon come back to the starting point. We both need to figure this out.' Espeon hopped up in front of Gary and looked at Leaves again.

Ash smiled before he recalled Leaves. 'That was good practice for her, but I think we need to have someone that can give more pressure. Pikachu you're up!'

Pikachu landed in front of Ash and tilted his head at the pokemon in front him. He chittered to Ash.

'I know you hate psychics. It's why I chose you. Give her a static when ever she takes a bad position. The rest is up to you. I'll be with Gary while he calls.'

Pikachu's un-amused "cha" followed Ash as he walked away. Pikachu looked over to the other pokemon and gave a chirp of encouragement before he leaned low on all fours to prepare for the bout.

Gary looked at Ash in surprise. 'Why are you coming over here? Both of our pokemon will get disorientated if both of us are calling attacks.'

Ash waved off the concern. 'He will be on his own for this one. I am not seeing why you are calling some of your calls from that side. And Pikachu needs practice against psychic types anyway.'

Gary gave the younger boy an unsure look before he turned back to Espeon. 'You heard him Espeon. Quick attack.' Espeon burst into a full sprint to try and catch Pikachu off guard. The electric mouse jumped out of the way and kept his distance all the while he bounced on his feet in light agile hops. From his pokeball, Pikachu had been paying attention to Leaves earlier fight and from the tone of Ash's voice, Espeon had some how allowed an opening. But like with everything else, Ash kept it all vague.

'Psychic!' Pikachu glared at Ash before a flash of light blinded him and his head ached. It was one of the few moves he had encountered that he just couldn't dodge. Pikachu thrust out a wave of electricity and heard a yelp before he flung his tail in that direction to allow an arc of electricity to counter attack. His headache disappeared and he bounced away just long enough to glance at Espeon. She was still in the same place. The girl shook of the electricity but the long training session was showing how tired she had become. Pikachu realized what Ash was worried about and gave the girl a good shock to get her to move.

Espeon yelped in pain but began to move on her own out of the second attack. 'Sand attack girl! He is too good at targeting you from any range.' Espeon yipped in agreement. She ran towards Pikachu and spun on the ground with all four paws loosening the dirt before she used her rear legs and tail to kick up dust and sand.

Pikachu remembered the day when he trained with the two people at the gym. He resisted the immediate counter attack and counted to two before he launched himself towards Espeon. He bared his maw to give her warning moments before he attempted to bite her. Espeon moved out of the way but quickly tried to recenter her self.

'Zapp Cannon!' The electricity build up was massive and Pikachu's own sensitivity was the only sense that told him how dangerous that attack was. It was almost as fast as the Psychic attack but it came from Espeon's mouth in a narrow beam. He dodged it and resisted the immediate response to absorb it. This wasn't his training session. The electric beam flew over the field and singed grass before it ran out of energy over the water. The attack was something he had expected from a pokemon that had fully evolved, but everything else seemed… off.

Pikachu flung another static shock to move her and she pulled back giving far too much ground. Just as both Ash and Pikachu noticed the reaction, Gary called out to Espeon.

'Tackle! We can't let him control the field!' Pikachu recognized the desperation call and charged in to punish the lack of quick response. Just as Pikachu prepared to launch another static shock. He called out, 'Pikapi!' He jumped back and stood silently on two feet. A few seconds passed as Espeon slowed from her tackle and crumpled.

'Good eyes Pikachu, I didn't notice at all.' Ash called as Gary ran to Espeon. Pikachu walked up to Ash with a nervous look. Ash reached out his arm and Pikachu gladly hopped onto his shoulder. 'You did a good job Pikachu. I think we figured out why he is having such a hard time with her.' Ash gently scratched Pikachu's chin in praise before he moved his attention to Gary and Espeon.

Espeon roused from the exhaustion and shuddered before she looked at her trainer. Gary nuzzled her to try and wash away the disappointment she projected to him. 'It's alright Espeon. We need to figure out whats going on-' Gary squeezed his partner that was cradled in his arms. She looked wiped out from the session. Gary could not bite back the sigh that escaped him. He turned around to meet Ash.

'And Ash is really good at finding weaknesses in his opponents.'

Ash continued to scratch Pikachu's chin. 'A few weeks back you said you were training Eve. How long did you work with her before she evolved?'

Gary exhaled. 'I was worried that might be the case. I've had her for little over a month. She's been an Espeon for maybe three weeks of that. I have no idea how old she is. She evolved too young didn't she?'

Ash shrugged his shoulders. 'I am not the expert on that, your grandfather is. I feel she should be more aware of her body and she feels physically weaker than when she fought Psyduck. Her psychic attack was fast. But it had no impact on Pikachu who is especially sensitive to psychic attacks. She would move fast but only for her quick attack and she had to stop and catch her breath and recover after every burst of speed. It's not that she is just not taking advantage of the field. She doesn't seem to have the same stamina she had as an Evee.'

Gary sighed to himself in worry. 'We don't have too much time left to build up her stamina so you will probably only be good for one fight every few days.'

Ash nodded. 'She still knows Zapp Cannon.'

Gary shook his head. 'It's a desperation move. If she is fresh she can shoot a few of them but like the name says, it makes her immobile. If she misses, it's over.' Gary did not feel like recalling her to her ball. He gave the dozing pokemon a light kiss before standing up.

'Do you mind if I hand her over to Pikachu to just run around for tomorrow?'

Gary laughed at the request. 'Ash, you are the only one I know that would have a pokemon train a pokemon, but if you think it will help her, I will do anything.' The fight with Leaves and the very short bout with Pikachu had drained her. With one hand he released Nidoqueen.

'Well, we have other pokemon we need to train. Let me know when you are ready.' Ash laughed as he tossed Pikachu into the air. Pikachu chattered a laugh and landed on the other side of the field. 'You can go full bout on this one Pikachu. No calls. You are on your own. Think on your feet!'

Pikachu flung an annoyed arc of electricity at Ash. Ash reached his hand out and let it zap him. He laughed and shook the sting off. 'No ketchup if you don't show us a good bout Pikachu.' Pikachu gave an aggravated growl.

Gary grumbled out to his side. 'Did you have to rile him up for this fight?'

'They will both be fine.' Ash placed his hands on his hips and watched as Pikachu made the opening move. Ash gave a side glance to Gary. 'Is it weird fighting a pokemon that doesn't get calls?'

Gary scowled as he ordered a counter to Pikachu's rush. 'Yes it is.'

Ash laughed and cheerfully added. 'Good! I hope it's just as annoying in the Plateau.'

-o-

Leaves fidgeted nervously at Ash's side. Ash gave the girl a smile of encouragement, relieved to see she did not panic like she had the small village on Cinnabar Island. It took her a few days to get used to anything other than pokemon in the forest. It was an adjustment period that Ash had not anticipated but she needed to learn that it was safe to ignore all the new noises that accompanied travels with a human.

Ash smiled at the memory of Leaves first steps out of the pokemon center into the Indigo Village. It was the first time Ash ever saw the stout pokemon have enough energy to hop on his back to see high enough to look at the sky line.

The buildings in the village were a dull brown that matched the cliffs sides it nestled between. It was the perfect spot to protect the town from the freezing winds that blew around the mountain. Ash had arrived late in the evening the night before. He was still sore that he had lost his way twice to get there. The only guides he had were the occasional lights that lit cave entrances for travelers on foot. The small air strip did little to keep the village connected to the world by plane. Indeed, while there would be a massive audience, they had to take over a week to travel to the mountain by either train or airplane. Both forms that were only afforded to the business owners and the wealthy.

The Indigo League village was more densely populated now since it was so close to the tournament. People crowded around Ash and Leaves as they walked to their own destinations. Ash would pause briefly every so often when Leaves looked like she was about to be over whelmed.

'It's alright Leaves. We are almost there. Then you can rest and look around.' Leaves barked out a "Bulba!" in response. Ash nodded at the reply and shaded his eyes. The sun was just a quarter into the sky and the air was warm. It was a good reminder spring was almost over.

'Ash!' Ash spotted the girl ahead of him right away. She had her hands over her head and stood on the edge of the fountain to see above everyone's head. Ash laughed at the hand that covered Ko's face and Jana's mop of unruly blue hair laughing at the spectacle Melody was making her self in public.

'Hello Melody.' Ash greeted back when he was close enough. Ash gestured to the fountain ledge and Leaves thankfully lifted herself with her vines to the edge to see above the crowd that passed by.

'This is Leaves by the way. She isn't used to cities and people yet so I'm showing her around to get a feel for humans.'

Melody and her friends gave an aw in response as they carefully approached the bulbasaur but were mindful as to not reach out to the wary pokemon. The girl turned to Ash and cheered out, 'I made it into the top sixty four!'

Ash smiled and congratulated her. 'The last few days have been pretty busy. Four more days to go.'

The girl laughed, 'I'm just happy I made it to the rest day. My pokemon need it. What about you? I haven't seen you at all. Are you in the other stadium block? Were are you seeded? I thought you would be pretty high up on the seeded spots but I never found your name.'

Ash snorted before he laughed. He pulled out his pokedex. Ash let the group crowd around and enjoyed the looks. Melody immediately looked at the spot where his placement read:

 _YOUR PLACEMENT NUMBER IS 254._

Melody sat back against the fountain ledge. 'That's down near the bottom… How?'

Ash laughed and patted Leaves to calm her as a crowd of people paid a little too much attention to the small pokemon on the fountain. 'I barely finished my eighth gym battle a few weeks ago.'

Melody, Jana and Ko did not think much of the statement. Ash thought lot of people would be like that. Finally Ash explained; 'The League makes the draws based on the the number of badges and the time it took to get them for qualifications. Honestly I knew it would be near the bottom from the beginning.'

Ash looked at the time on the pokedex and nodded to himself. When Ash looked at his friend he snorted at her horrified expression. 'Melody, I was laid up in bed for the start of my journey? The first thing I did was find out what my chances were of getting into the tournament. I was literally thrown months behind schedule. There was a point where I wondered if it was even worth trying. It still feels like a miracle when the sixteen months was cut short by nearly three months. Being this low is about what I expected.'

Ash shut his pokedex closed and stuffed it in his pocket. 'But now that I made it, I decided that I am passing on the tournament. But I was offered something else in the mean time so I'm still in the village.'

Ko moaned. 'That is such a waste man! What are you going to be doing then? Is it during the actual tournament?'

Melody groaned in disappointment, 'Does that mean you'll not see any of the matches?'

Ash shook his head and recalled Leaves. Once he patted her on his belt he opened the flap of his jacket. Ko and Jana stared at it unsure what the badge was for. Melody started laughing. 'Security?' She started laughing harder. Ash was the smallest of the boys she seen today.

'It's not _that_ funny. I think I'll be fine.' Ash repressed the frown that came to him.

Jana was quick enough to smack the girl on the back of her shoulder. Melody waved her hand in surrender. 'Sorry, Ash. That's not what I meant. I just thought anyone who crosses you is going be in for a surprise.'

Ash gave a snort at that. After he thought about her placement he thought aloud, 'Just one match before you fight any of the seniors.' The seniors, as Gary described it, were the trainers who signed up for the tournament after it was announced that the Indigo League tournament would be open to all trainers who never participated.

 _And did they ever come out_. Thought Ash. There was a higher turn out of senior trainers than there were new comers.

'Yep, I can't wait to see how I stack up. But I think these two are wondering what we will be doing after this is over.' Melody pointed at her friends.

Jana shook her head clearly stating she did not want to start this conversation again.

Ko answered, 'Since we both decided that we would pass on the tournament, we were looking for the next leagues we can enter. There are plenty of other countries we could try our luck with out wearing our selves out in this one.'

Ash thought about it before he gave an audible "oh!" He remembered Gary mentioning it before. 'Were you going to go to Johto or Hoenn?' Ash let the question hang as both Jana and Ko shrugged their shoulders.

'Honestly? I'm not sure. Depending on how well Melody does, we may go to Johto since its closer. But I was really thinking Orange Islands this next season.'

Melody stuck her tongue out at them. 'I would have to do pretty badly for us to be able to make it to Johto. The tournament was pushed forward by several months. Johto sign up has been open for the last two weeks and will close in three days. We would have to fly to Johto and register by Sunday.'

Ash grunted at that. She would have to loose in the second round tomorrow to even consider going to Johto. 'We'll good luck with it then.' Ash cheered.

Ash's group started to move them towards the park. He had others he wanted to meet up before he started the evening patrol. The group of friends heard a second call of Ash's name before he waved back. The streets had split apart and opened into a modern concrete park.

Pikachu cha'ed at him from Misty's shoulder. Ash grimaced at the red smudges around Pikachu's mouth. The mouse ran up to him and gave a smug look at his trainer. Ash simply tossed the mouse back to Misty. She extended her arm to allow Pikachu to gracefully land and run up to his perch on her shoulder.

Misty gave a helpless shrug. 'What? He's cute. I can't fight cute.'

'Hello! I'm Melody, and this is Ko and Jana.' Melody introduced her friends.

Misty greeted them all. 'Hello I'm Misty, the Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Gym. I'm sorry I don't recall seeing any of you this year in my gym.'

Ko gave an apologetic grin at his friends. 'That would be my fault, I fought your sisters years ago when I was a little kid for fun and don't have too many good memories of it. I kinda had us avoid the gym.'

Misty thought about it and shook her head. 'I can understand that. My sisters… are not the most professional trainers when they did their gym fights.' Misty and Ko shared a shudder.

Ash could not hold back his smile as he asked, 'No sign of Gary?'

Misty felt her shoulders slump before she gave Ash a glare. 'Janine called me. She definitely couldn't make it this for the tournament. And check your messages.'

Ash grimaced before the pair immediately exhaled in frustration. Ash turned to Melody, 'A couple of our friends are kinda all over the place right now. Gary is probably stayed behind his match to speak with someone. I spotted his grandfather trying to find him earlier today. We had hoped at least one of them could come. '

Jana gave the two a smile in sympathy. 'It happens guys.'

The group started to walk down the road to a place Ko spotted near the stadium. It would be a good spot to rest when he was not working. 'Misty, have you talked to him at all?' Ash asked quietly while Ko was talking about the restaurant.

The group stood outside in what was an out door dinning area. Wood creaked as they set them selves down. 'Just for a few seconds this morning. I am pretty sure he feels like I blew him off. It was right before our meeting this morning. I had planned to just leave him a message and he actually answered. I do feel guilty about the whole thing. We just beat around the bush with out really saying anything.'

Ko waved at the waitress to let her know they were ready to order. Ash ordered his drink and quickly said, 'You know him. He wouldn't try and take advantage of anything given to him.' Ash himself was confused why they were still fighting. It took all week, but he got the story out of both of his friends. It seemed like a open and shut case. Gary fumbled words and that was it.

Misty ordered and felt her self laugh at Melody as she declared she was having a strawberry smoothie with the marshmallow Clefairy on top. With a slight smile added to her voice she thought of Gary. 'I know. I just let my temper get the better of me. And by the gods does he feed it.'

Ash laughed and looked back to Melody not realizing Pikachu had run around the table to sit on her lap. 'Pikachu I know you're excited but I said no more. If you take any more bottles, I'm keeping you in your ball.'

Pikachu's ears wilted under Ash voice and he slouched in Melody's lap.

-o-

The next day, Ash found himself walk away from the Stadium B match. Ash silently cheered for the zubat that won that round. It was already fighting against the sunlight and heat. It and its trainer would have to do their best to last until the evening matches where it would be easier for the little guy to compete. Leaves nipped at his ankle. Ash thanked her reminder that they should continue to walk.

Ash wore a bright yellow jacket with blue straps that ran up and over his shoulders. The back had the word SECURITY emblazoned on it. His badge made of bronze and shaped like a shield was pinned on his left breast. Over all, it made him itch to all hell with how warm it was. Spring felt like it was officially over and with this many warm bodies in a single space, Ash felt the sweat run down his back making his skin crawl.

Ash's day passed by with nothing to speak of. The walk and occasional wave to another security agents was relaxing. The cheers and stomping of feet shook the ground and made his body vibrate with excitement for a show he had no inclination to watch. The opening matches were drawn from the trainers with the lowest ratings. As such, they were the quickest.

Ash made his way to Stadium A in his path through the main avenue and up the guest path to the high floor and made his way down. His job was to maintain order and request aid in case anything escalated. Really, too many people were invested in the tournament and did not spend too much time in the halls unless it was for food or to wait in line for the bathrooms.

Ash looked up to see Misty in the same security jacket wave at him. Pikachu looked content to be just perched on her shoulder. 'Hey Ash. How is the walk?'

Ash smiled. 'Boring. How are the matches going?'

Misty smiled and looked over her shoulder to the stadium floor. With this many participants, the first day consisted of four simultaneous bouts until they whittled the competition to the final thirty two. 'The two-pokemon cap rounds are going as fast as can be expected. I've watched this tournament a few times before. The fights usually are longer drawn out affairs. I think the sudden date changed really cut off a lot of potential participants. And those who would have made a showing did not have the time they should have to prepare.'

Ash grunted as he walked closer to the edge of the balcony. 'That _is_ why they invited the seniors who never participated in the Indigo League Tournament. Really, I think the matches would be fewer but longer if the League didn't invite them. The experienced trainers are making the fights shorter than they should be.'

The three bouts below the pair were in various stages of completion. It was the barely the eight round of the day in this stadium. There was only one more round and it would be getting towards early evening when it was done baring any seriously even matches.

Misty leaned against the railing. 'It still feels smaller than what I was expecting. The last two tournaments there were about ten matches going simultaneously in the same amount of time.'

Ash smiled at the idea of seeing so many matches at the same time. 'I'll come check in for the last round. Any idea where Melody will be at for her match?'

Misty pointed to the eastern side. 'She will have her match on field C. If you find a better spot than here, let me know the details. I won't be able to see too much from back here.'

Ash waved as he started to walk out the entrance again. 'Will do. See you tonight at ten.' After a moment Ash asked, 'And Gary?'

Misty shook her head. 'He won his two matches but wont fight again for another hour if you want to watch. It's too soon to see who he will compete against.'

-o-

Gary had a jumble of feelings about the day. After his first two days he could understand why Ash skipped out on the tournament. Ash had out grown it. Gary was feeling he might have out grown it too if the early bouts were any indication.

 _One more today_. He thought quietly to himself. The tunnel out to the stadium echoed the cheers of the other matches going on around the field. As he exited the tunnel Gary checked his pokemon. Three matches in a single day. If you had a full roster you would be able to use all six pokemon the League allowed you to carry. For trainers like Gary who had gone through the entire day with wins, choosing your pokemon for all three matches was a strategy in itself. He could appreciate the designers of this tournament just for that.

Gary noticed the fields had gotten larger for this round. Only two simultaneous matches were going. 'That's a lot of people to weed out.'

'Isn't?'

Gary looked to his left. Melissa was a seventeen year old girl with teal hair. She was a little old for the tournament even by the seniors standards, but she seemed comfortable being among so many younger trainers. Gary let her take the extra few steps so they could walk side by side.

'Good luck today Melissa.'

'You too Gary. Hopefully who ever wins can make a good showing tomorrow. Most of my pokemon have been through the ringer today.' Melissa stretched her own stiff neck at the reminder.

Gary smiled as he walked to his side. 'Three matches in one day is pretty rough. No offers then?'

Gary ignored the commentators that echoed above him. When he heard his name he waved at the crowd to the cheers that nearly drowned out the referee.

'I actually got two. But it hasn't been something I'm too interested in. But if nothing else pops up by the end of the tournament, I may take a job in Celadon City. A clothier is looking for a few trainers to help manage the weedle's for their silk.'

Gary smiled. 'Sounds like a nice stable job.'

Melissa smiled. 'Yeah.' Her tone made it sound more like a wistful dream. 'It wouldn't be so bad to stop traveling. It's one of the reasons why I didn't out right reject the offer.'

'Trainers call out your first pokemon!'

Both Gary and Melissa moved to their side of the field with a parting, 'Good luck.'

Melissa threw out a fully evolved rock pokemon. It landed with a small thud that shook the earth. It's roar filled the arena to match the cheers of the crowd.

'A golem, that's a bummer.' Gary muttered to himself before he took out one of his remaining fresh pokemon. He wanted to use Espeon today, but he constantly felt there was never a good time. It didn't matter that her best move is ruled out, she still needs the practice.

'Espeon, You're out first!'

'Fight!'

Melissa was quick to call, 'Earthquake!'

'Espeon, Psychic.' Gary called. Espeon launched the mental attack at the golem a moment before he could slam his foot down and compress the earth. Golem grunted as he finished his move but not with the original amount of force. The ground shook but did not crack and buckled like the golem had intended.

'Quick attack to get in range of him.' Espeon heard Gary's urgent order and burst into speed with out hesitation.

Melissa called out, 'Seismic toss when it gets in range!'

'Quick attack around him! Psychic.' Espeon had already closed the space and had started to move behind him before Gary made the call. She continued to move around and back towards Golems face before she stared into his eyes and launched another psychic attack. Golem roared as his head burst with pain.

'Quick attack him again. Make him off balanced while he tries to recover.' Gary was not confident that Espeon could defeat that golem when two of her bests moves were sealed off. On the other hand, they could still win by ring out.

Melissa made several calls before she noticed Golem staggered to a knee close to the edge of the field. 'Golem! Plant your feet! They are trying to go for a ring out. Look for that tail! It will tell you where it is!'

Golem slowly opened his eyes when he finally recovered from the psychic attack. Instead of looking for Espeon he just looked for movement and instantly reached where he thought a body attached to that tail would be. Espeon cried in pain.

'Do it Golem!' Golem roared as he gripped Gary's small psychic pokemon one handed and completed his seismic toss. Espeon yelped one more time as the rolling clouds of dirt cleared.

Gary pulled out his pokeball to recall Espeon. 'You did a good-'

A struggling Espeon glared at Golem one more time before Golem was blindsided by a psychic attack. The rock pokemon nearly tumbled over before taking a few steps to remain standing. The ping of what sounded like metal against rock shook Golem before another psychic attack pinged against the bigger pokemons head. Espeon took a few tries to stand before she launched another psychic attacked. Both Golem and Espeon swayed.

Espeon coughed and grunted as she shot one more psychic at the rock golem before she collapsed.

'knock out and ring out! Both trainers take out your last pokemon.'

Gary gave a brief glance to the referee to confirm a point flag was awarded to each side. Gary was not aware that the Golem had indeed staggered out of the ring. Gary recalled Espeon and looked at her ball. 'You surprised me out there. You did an amazing job. Get some rest, we'll check on you later to see if you can keep going. You did us all proud.'

Gary moved the pokeball back to its spot on his belt but not before adding, 'I'm proud of you.'

Gary pulled out his last fresh pokemon. He only had the luxury of letting Espeon go first because he was comfortable with Magmar. But he was happy with the results Espeon gave him. It made Magmar's job easier.

'Let's go Magmar.'

Melissa gave a soft call to her golem before she recalled him. 'Good try. We just didn't expect her to be so tenacious.' Melissa unclipped her last pokemon and tossed it into the field. 'Stay in the center!'

A massive blob dropped into the field. It quickly reshaped into a mass of purple slime. A moment later it hardened into a solid mass. White eyes looked over to Magmar and huffed at it's opponent.

'Fight!' Called the referee with a waved flag.

'Magmar, Fire blast!'

Immediately Melissa called, 'Acid Armor!' Muk's body glistened before it hardened and sheened from the excreted acid.

Magmar's burst of fire engulfed the muk with a roar of fire. Gary surveyed the damaged and called for Magmar to back up. 'It did no damage. We need to switch this up. Confuse ray.' Magmar focused his gaze and locked it with Muk. The muk felt his focus suddenly change from Melissa's commands to Magmar's glare and it nearly stunned him. The rush of the change in focus made him close his eyes to try and shake the dizziness that had set in.

'Fire blast.' Gary called. Just like he was instructed, Magmar kept his focus on Muk's eyes until he had to look up to aim his fire blast. The fire attack launched and scorched the earth as it flew towards the incapacitate Muk.

Muk grunted at the attack but the acid on his body did it's job and burned through the fire attack. Most of the acid was burnt off but it gave Muk the precious seconds he needed to refocus and listen to Melissa who had issued a command. The last one he heard made him swallow a bulge of his body before he spat it accurately at Magmar's feet.

The bomb of sludge exploded into a hot vapor. Magmar inhaled a gasp on reflex and knew it was a mistake. Poison rapidly worked through his body. A spasm nearly made him fall over but he managed to stand and move away from the cloud of gas.

Gary saw Magmar back pedal from the sludge bomb. Magmar was slow to turn to his trainer and Gary knew his partner was poisoned. 'Teleport behind him.' Magmar grunted with effort before his body slowed, his eyes lost focus.

'Muk, Megadrain!' Muk opened his mouth and lunged at the slowed Magmar.

Gary frowned. For the first time today he felt me may actually loose. Gary saw the flames dim around Magmar's body as the poison sped in the pokemon's blood stream.

Magmar grunted in effort to spin out of the way and disappeared. He teleported in mid spin and stood between Melissa and her pokemon.

'Fire punch him to our side!' Muk gave a cry of surprise and he was hit in the back and launched to Gary's side of the field. Its mass barely had time to reform to look around. Muk turned to look for his trainer to get directions but only found Magmar standing in front of him.

'Fire blast.' A foot lodged itself deep into Muk's body to hold him before the blast was released. The impact shook Muk's vision before he lost control of his body and sank into a pool of dense sludge.

'Winner, Gary and Magmar.'

Gary ignored the cheers and looked over to Melissa. She huffed but did not look too put off from loosing. She recalled Muk and waved at Gary before leaving. Gary walked down towards Magmar who stood still. He was breathing hard and the poison had fully set in. Gary was thankful he thought to use fire blast and not fire punch. Magmar looked like he would not have been able to pull it off.

Gary gazed at the pokemon who was barely shorter than he was. 'Good job Magmar. Get some rest. You've earned it.' Gary recalled the pokemon. Now that he was no longer thinking about his pokemon, he realized the crowd cheered at something that was said over head. Gary looked up and waved absently while he exited the stadium. There were still other matches that had to be played out.

Gary let the announcers voice wash over him as he exited the gates. His eyes narrowed in focus as his ears picked up the faint voice calling,

 _With this final match, we now know who will be apart of our round of thirty-two! Tomorrow starts the second half of the tournament with the three versus three matches. Finally we will have seeded trainers entering the fray!_

A/N: Well.. this is awkward. Chapter 18, 19 and 20 arc were kind of a sudden addition when I first started writing chapter 18 over a year ago. Changing how I wrote my fights was probably the hardest part of it. I wanted to show that Gary was a very different trainer than Ash. That unfortunately really dragged down how I was writing the story. We'll see how the next chapter works out.


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